(Dan Tri) – Four South American countries announced plans to build a common conservation area to prevent China’s fishing fleet of hundreds of ships from massively fishing, endangering the environment and the livelihoods of local fishermen.
An Ecuadorian navy ship approached a Chinese fishing boat near the Galapagos Islands (Photo: Armada del Ecuador).
Earlier this week, the governments of Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica announced plans to create a protected area extending from the Galapagos Islands into a maritime corridor from Colombia’s Malpelo Island to Cocos and Coiba islands off the coast of Central America.
According to the Wall Street Journal, conservationists highly appreciate the efforts of Latin American countries to expand protected areas in the Pacific from Ecuador to Central America to prevent Chinese fishing vessels from flooding in to deplete fish.
`The most amazing thing about this project is that it is the world’s first multinational protected area. It is an important step. We have the technology to help protect the area and satellites that can
Although Latin American countries did not name China when announcing the new maritime reserve, in the past they have spoken out about the behavior of Chinese fishing fleets operating from Argentina to Mexico.
Argentinian conservationist Milko Schvartzman calls the problem `an ecological time bomb. It causes damage to the entire food chain.`
Mr. Schvartzman said he estimates there will be about 800 Chinese fishing vessels in South American waters this year.
The US believes that illegal fishing activities also affect local economies in developing countries.
The Chinese side has not commented when requested by the Wall Street Journal.
Fishing to the end
The cold, deep waters of the Pacific Ocean stretching from Antarctica to North America have one of the most biodiverse marine ecosystems in the world.
China’s huge fishing fleets are capable of staying at sea for months at a time fishing in international waters outside Latin American countries.
Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Mauricio Montalvo said that the problem here is the large scale of the Chinese fishing fleet.
`There are up to 300 ships and giant refrigerated ships parked for months in the oceans to catch and process seafood on site. We are vigilant and try to control, but can’t do much,` Mr. Montalvo
Conservationists have warned of overexploitation in the waters around Ecuador’s Galapagos islands.
Although they support the initiative to establish a common protected area, environmentalists say that its implementation may be difficult because Latin American countries lack budget, as well as lack the capacity to control and patrol the area.