Chinese trawlers travel farthest and fish the most

(Reuters) - China has the world’s largest and farthestranging fishing operation, outstripping the next 10 biggest combined, according to what researchers say is the most comprehensive and data-intensive study on the subject.

Ships from China amassed approximately 17 million hours of fishing in 2016, mostly off the southern coast of their home country, but also as far away as Africa and South America. The next-biggest operation is Taiwan’s, with 2.2 million hours of fishing.

The data, collected and analysed over five years by Global Fishing Watch, a non-profit that tracks fishing operations, represent the most comprehensive look at where, and how often, the world’s fishing boats operate. A study of the data is being published in the journal Science on Thursday.

China is “the most important fishing nation,” David Kroodsma, Global Fishing Watch’s research and development director, who was the study’s lead author, said in an interview.

“The extent of the Chinese fleet is even bigger than it seems.”

China’s distant-water fishing fleet, estimated as the world’s largest by Greenpeace, with 2,500 vessels, has not always been welcome in far-off waters. Ships are not allowed to work without permission in the exclusive economic zones of other countries, which extend by United Nations convention to 200 km (125 miles) from shore.