The impacts of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing are visible and far-reaching in Latin America. It damages marine ecosystems and livelihoods and encourages other crimes.
“Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is the biggest problem affecting South American seas,” said Milko Schvartzman, an Argentine marine conservation expert and member of the non-governmental organization Círculo de Políticas Ambientales.
In a report, the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies (CLALS) at American University, Washington, DC, states that the environmental impact of IUU fishing is devastating due to overfishing, declining fish stocks, declining fisheries, overfishing deeper. waters and illegal practices that almost wipe out protected species, among other factors.
In South America, the Chinese fishing fleet mainly catches short squid and giant squid.
The Chinese fleet catches them out of season (regardless of size or breeding season) and doesn’t comply with current regulations, Schvartzman said.
Catching these molluscs seriously affects the ecosystem, as they play an important role in marine ecosystems as both predators and prey.
“In addition, this fleet disposes of tons of garbage, oil, toxins, plastics and obsolete fishing parts every day,” Schvartzman said.
“There are about 300 Chinese squid fishing vessels in the Pacific and more than 400 in the Atlantic.”
DIRECT CONSEQUENCES
The direct economic impacts of IUU fishing include food insecurity for artisanal fishers and fishing communities, lost income for legal fishers and government tax revenue.
After Asia and Africa, South America suffers the biggest losses from IUU fishing, according to the CLALS report.
“The [Chinese] the fleet, which is subsidized by their country, employs slave labor,” Schvartzman said.
“They don’t pay a living wage; they do not maintain navigational, labor or environmental safety standards. There is unfair competition with local fishermen who pay taxes and respect environmental and safety standards.”
CLEANING MONEY
Peter A. Murray, adviser to the Secretariat of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), which promotes sustainable fisheries in the region, said fishing had become a vehicle for laundering drug money.
One of the problems, Murray said, is that IUU fishing is often treated as a regulatory problem rather than “transnational organized crime. Countries’ efforts often go unnoticed.”
PART OF THE SOLUTION
According to the Ecuadorian newspaper El Universo, the Chinese fleet moved about 300 miles from the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador in June.
Ecuador’s navy said the situation was under control and that it was constantly monitoring the fishing fleet, which at the time included about 175 vessels, according to the maritime institution.
“The destruction caused by this fleet is not changing significantly,” Schvartzman asserted.
“It’s the same number of ships in the same region […], it’s just a bit off, and that has more to do with geopolitics than anything else. Ecuador’s diplomacy has managed to get the Chinese fleet to move a few miles offshore, and that’s important.”
Experts believe there are ways to fight criminals, such as strengthening the capacity of security forces to stop countries with bad practices and creating programs for fishermen who can no longer make a living at sea.
“There is still a lot to do, but progress is being made because the public is aware of the problem.
“Society knows that it is a serious problem, that there are countries that work with these fleets, that there are ports that serve them and that they know their movements. Transparency is part of the solution”, concluded Schvartzman.
With information from Latina Press
