Thousands of Chinese fishing boats have been stranded by the
implementation of the international fishing pacts signed between
China and its neighbors.
Government chiefs have pledged to allocate 270 million yuan
(US$32.5 million) a year to remove the boats from the country's
fishing fleet and transfer at least 300,000 affected fishermen to
other jobs, the Ministry of
Agriculture said yesterday.
Implementation of the three fishing agreements China inked with
Japan, the Republic of Korea and Viet Nam over the past two years
has narrowed China's fishing area, driving thousands of fishermen
off their traditional trawling grounds, Minister Du Qinglin
said.
Ma
Weijun, an official at the ministry's Fisheries Bureau, said that
China had been committed to cutting the size of its fleet before
the agreements were signed as over-fishing and pollution have
caused stocks to plummet.
China had nearly a quarter million fishing boats in 2000 - more
than four times as many as 20 years ago.
But the nation will take 6,000 fishing vessels out of operation
each year for up to five years and transfer 60,000 offshore
fishermen to new jobs, Du said.
Late last year the ministry estimated the number of fishermen being
forced out of fishing areas at 200,000.
Under rules enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Law
of the Sea, which China signed in 1996, all coastal nations are
allowed jurisdiction over resources up to 200 nautical miles (370
kilometers) from their shores, according to Zhang Hecheng,
vice-director of the bureau. China shares seas with all three
countries, but there is less than 400 nautical miles between them,
according to Zhang.
Du
said China is a responsible country that honors its commitments and
the country is carrying out the fishing pacts to maintain sound
order on the seas.
Local governments should help offshore fishermen turn to
aquaculture, encourage them to set up processing plants, and get
involved in ocean fishing and non-fishing sectors, he said.
(Xinhua
News Agency August 19, 2002)