Continued Violence over Illegal Fishing

Whether it’s the fishermen themselves or authority figures policing the area, violence continues to breach waters all over the world due to illegal fishing.  Most recently, on April 3^rd, a Chinese fisherman was shot and killed off the coast of the Republic of Palau, a nation located some 500 miles east of the Philippines.  Officers fired at the fisherman’s boat as he was thought to be fishing illegally.  The man bled to death before he could be taken to the hospital.  He was not the only incident in the area; twenty Chinese fishermen in total were found that day after the discovery of a “mother ship”.  The Republic of Palau is one of many places in which Chinese fishermen have been known to fish illegally.  There has been continued conflict in areas such as the Yellow Sea, South Korean waters. 

Why enter foreign waters?

One would assume a simple solution to these conflicts would be for the Chinese fishermen to fish in their own waters, rather than stirring up trouble in the waters of other nations.  However, these areas are very important to fishermen.  For example, the Yellow Sea is important fishing and crab grounds, therefore frequently inhabited by Chinese boats, which in turn leads to disputes over fishing rights and often violent encounters.  So why do they do it? Well, in general there is an expanding demand for seafood in China due to the country’s rapid economic growth, meanwhile pollution and overfishing have killed off most of the fish stock near their coast, causing them to pursue fish elsewhere.  Also, Chinese fish farms are seeing a huge decline in productivity, once again due to pollution being poured into the ocean from port and petrochemical facilities. Because of these issues, it is vital for fishermen to fish in foreign waters if they wish to meet their demand.  Given this, it is understandable that the fishermen want to look further into other waters, however, it is necessary for them to follow the laws and requests of those nations, otherwise this violence will not only continue, but most likely worsen. 

The Yellow Sea: fish ground or battlegrounds?

December 12, 2011 marked a violent incident, which only further intensified the ongoing issue of violent encounters between Chinese fishermen and South Korean police on the Yellow Sea.  On that day, upon boarding the illegal fishermen’s boat, a South Korean coast guard officer was stabbed to death by one of the fishermen.  It is said that when the South Korean commandos boarded the ship, the captain of the ship broke a windowpane and repeatedly stabbed the officer with a piece of glass, killing him and wounding his fellow officer.  The officers seized the ship and the nine sailors aboard.  This type of violent activity is only expanding.  It is said that in the past these illegal Chinese fishermen would only fish on foggy days or at night and be gone by daybreak as to avoid being caught and the resulting conflicts, however, now they group together, creating small armadas, and fight back to resist arrest or gang up on police through the use of violence. 

Attempting to create peace:

After the December 12^th incident, the Chinese Agriculture Ministry sent an official letter to the Korean Embassy.  They stated that they had dispatched two teams to oversee fishing in the area and that they are increasing their regulations and instructions for fishing boats.  According to the Korean Times, “the letter also said three Chinese fishing boats were fined 100,000 yuan ($15,868) each last December for fishing without permits in Korean waters”.  Although this seems like such a small step, it is a vast improvement in the way China is dealing with this issue, compared to its past of being known to brush over such incidents rather than take charge and do something about it.

What do you think?

Violence is never the correct answer to resolve any issue, and can get very complicated when it involves various nations.  Do you think China will further step in to stop its fishermen from illegally entering foreign waters, or will the situation continue to worsen until desperate measures are needed?

Please feel free to post your opinions and reactions related to this issue.