China’s fisheries industry accounts for 40% of global production

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The main point of the report was that China’s illegal fishing was widespread throughout the world and that the Chinese government had military objectives behind it.

Late last year, the world widely reported the news that some 300 Chinese fishing boats were threatening the ecosystem and causing many problems for the economies of neighboring countries by conducting sweeping fishing operations in the Galapagos Islands.

The 300 Chinese fishing boats are said to account for 99% of the catch around the Galapagos Islands. The picture below clearly shows how many Chinese fishing boats are sweeping South America.

The yellow and red lines indicate the Chinese fishing boats’ routes, with the yellow line being from 2020 and the red line from 2021.

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Looking at this, it’s easy to think that China is sweeping up the world’s seafood, but China’s catch has never exceeded 20% of the world’s total.

Yet, with reports pouring in warning of the depletion of global fisheries and the destruction of ecosystems, what would happen if their catch exceeded 20%?

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Currently, the world’s fisheries resources are at only 66% of sustainable levels, and if China continues its uncooperative approach to management, seafood may gradually disappear from our tables.

It may be a small consolation that China’s aquaculture production accounts for over 60% of the world’s total, but without international efforts and China’s awakening, it is clear that the rate at which aquatic resources are being depleted will only accelerate.

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Lastly, according to FAO data, the statistics for the combined catch and aquaculture production of fisheries products from 230 countries around the world in 2020 are as follows: China produced 83.93 million tons, taking first place with a 39.22% share, and Korea produced 3.7 million tons, taking 12th place with a 1.73% share.