中国、イカ漁を一時禁止へ　大西洋と太平洋の一部漁場で

【北京ＡＦＰ＝時事】中国は世界最大の自国漁船団に対し、太平洋と大西洋の一部海域におけるイカ漁を一時的に禁止すると発表した。イカの個体数は、乱獲により激減している。（写真は中国・上海で販売されるイカ）
　世界のイカの漁獲量のうち、７割を占めるのが中国。同国の遠洋漁船団は、増大する魚介類需要を賄うため、西アフリカや中南米まで赴く。
　中国の農業農村省は２９日、世界の主要なイカ漁場となっているアルゼンチン沖の大西洋南西部での自国漁船による漁を、来月１日から９月３０日まで禁止すると発表した。
　これに先立ち中国の巨大漁船団に対しては、過剰漁業を行い海の繊細な生態系を壊しているとして、国際社会から批判が出ていた。
　同国の遠洋漁船は２６００隻を超え、米国の１０倍以上。うち３分の１近くがイカ釣り漁船だ。
　昨年には、ガラパゴス諸島を含むエクアドルの保護海域付近で、中国船団数百隻が確認された。
　インドネシア当局は自国海域で密漁を行っていた中国船を多数拿捕（だほ）した他、韓国の沿岸警備隊と中国人漁師らが衝突した際には死者も出た。
　また昨年の研究によると、中国の大型漁船は北朝鮮の海域でも違法操業に及んでおり、その漁獲量は数百億円規模に上ったとされる。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/06/30-14:08）

China has announced a temporary ban on its fishing fleet -- the world's biggest -- from catching squid in parts of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans after overfishing pushed populations to the brink of collapse.
China reels in as much as 70 percent of the global squid catch, and its vessels sail as far as West Africa and Latin America to sate the growing appetite for seafood in the country.
But Chinese vessels will suspend operations in major global squid spawning grounds in the southwest Atlantic near Argentina from Thursday until September 30, and parts of the Pacific from September to November, the agriculture ministry said Monday.
The ban follows an international backlash against China's giant overseas fleet, with claims that they are overfishing and damaging fragile marine ecosystems.
Areas covered by the moratorium are breeding grounds for two of the most popular squid varieties -- the Argentine shortfin squid and the Humboldt squid.
Populations of the Argentine shortfin have been low in recent years, with the average catch by Chinese vessels in the southwest Atlantic only 50 tonnes in 2019 compared with up to 2,000 tonnes previously, according to the China squid fishing association.
China is the world's biggest squid consumer and a depleting catch has left officials worried, said Zhou Wei, a marine ecosystem conservationist at Greenpeace China.
Ensuring a stable seafood supply is important to ensure food security.
China's distant-water fishing fleet has over 2,600 vessels -- more than ten times that of the United States.
Nearly a third of it is engaged in squid fishing.
A squid fishing ban -- even a temporary one -- by China is pivotal to the health of the ocean given the sheer size of the catch, said Zhang Jihong, a marine biologist at China's Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute.
China's fishing industry employs more than 14 million people, and another 30 million rely on fish for their livelihood.
But as stocks at home deplete, Chinese fishermen have sailed further and become entangled in a growing number of maritime disputes.
Last year, hundreds of Chinese fishing vessels were seen around marine sanctuaries off Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands.
Indonesia has impounded scores of Chinese boats caught poaching in its waters in recent years, and clashes between Chinese fishermen and the South Korean coast guard have turned deadly.
A study last year also claimed a huge Chinese fishing fleet had been operating illegally in North Korean waters, catching hundreds of millions of dollars worth of squid.