A growing international coalition of governments, civil society organizations, and fishing-sector stakeholders is calling for stronger controls on China’s distant-water fishing fleet operating in the South Pacific. Their concerns go beyond sustainability. The expansion of China’s fleet has increasingly raised questions about maritime security, high seas governance, and the ability of coastal states to safeguard their sovereignty and economic interests in waters where regulation and enforcement remain limited.
The debate intensified in February 2026, when more than 50 organizations from Latin America, North America, and Europe submitted a joint statement to the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (SPRFMO) ahead of its 14th meeting, held in March in Panama. While the coalition did not achieve all its objectives, the meeting produced limited regulatory advances — including measures to reduce fleet capacity and expand monitoring — while underscoring that enforcement gaps and weak oversight on the high seas remain a strategic challenge.
A shared challenge
The statement was signed by 17 artisanal fishing organizations from Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru, including the National Society of Artisanal Fishing of Peru, the National Cuttlefish Coordinator of Chile, and the Santa Rosa Artisanal Fishing Production Cooperative of Ecuador. Signatories also included 21 companies and business associations involved in processing and exporting of giant squid in Chile and Peru, such as the Chilean Association of Seafood Processing Plants and the Peruvian Chamber of Giant Squid.
Twenty international civil society organizations joined the appeal, including the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), Oceana, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Innovations for Ocean Action Foundation. Their key recommendations included the establishment of precautionary catch limits, expanded vessel-monitoring systems, greater use of electronic surveillance, stronger port-state controls, and labor-rights protection for crew — measures widely seen as essential for improving transparency and preventing exploitation in an industry where monitoring remains limited.
The giant squid fishery is one of the world’s largest. Reported landings between 2019 and 2023 indicate that Peru accounted for roughly 51 percent of landings, followed by China with 41 percent, and Chile with 7 percent, supporting tens of thousands of fishers and thousands of vessels across the region. Total global catch has exceeded 1 million metric tons annually in recent years, reaching approximately 1.2 million tons in 2023.
Yet, in the high-seas areas of the South Pacific, where China’s distant-water fleet operates, regulatory oversight remains fragmented, enforcement uneven, and monitoring capabilities are limited. These gaps create conditions in which large fleets can operate with minimal transparency, challenging the ability of states to protect marine resources, maintain economic stability for coastal communities, and enforce maritime governance standards.
According to an EJF analysis, Chinese-flagged vessels conducted nearly all observed squid-jigging activity in the region. This dominance has raised concerns not only about ecological impact but also about the strategic use of distant-water fishing as an instrument of influence in strategically important waters, enabling coercive practices and influence operations that challenge maritime governance and regional security.
“From the perspective of sustainable exploitation, the outcome of the SPRFMO meeting is very negative,” Milko Schvartzman, a specialist in marine conservation and illegal fishing, told Diálogo. “This is because no catch limits were set, there is no scientific evidence on the status of the population, there are no new initiatives for monitoring, inspections, or observers on board vessels, and there is also no initiative to protect the lives of crew members on board.”
While the March meeting adopted a consolidated measure for the jumbo flying squid fishery — including reductions in authorized vessel numbers and the organization’s first electronic-monitoring requirements — observers note that these steps fall short of the level of control needed to address large-scale fishing pressure and potential illicit activity on the high seas.
Seeking solutions
The issue spans environmental, economic, and security dimensions. While countries like Peru and Chile regulate squid fishing in their territorial waters through quotas, licensing, and seasonal closures, the high seas remain governed by less restrictive measures, creating conditions that enable China’s distant fishing fleet to operate with limited oversight.
“This situation ends up forcing artisanal fishermen to compete on unequal terms with distant-water fleets, which also receive subsidies from their governments,” warned Alfonso Miranda, president of Calamasur.
Concerns surrounding the Chinese fleet include illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, lack of transparency in vessel ownership and operations, and repeated allegations of incursions near or within exclusive economic ones. “They are veritable termites that destroy everything in their path and devastate entire ecosystems,” said Alberto Olivares, a fishermen’s leader in Iquique. Claims of incursions into national waters have reinforced regional calls for improved surveillance, intelligence sharing, and enforcement capabilities.
Labor abuses at sea
Labor conditions aboard distant-water fishing vessels also pose serious challenges. Investigations by international organizations such as EJF have documented cases of physical abuse, coercion, debt bondage, excessive working hours, denial of medical care, and withholding of wages on Chinese flagged squid vessels. These practices reflect broader patterns of labor exploitation in remote fisheries where oversight is minimal.
“Many of those interviewed described how their colleagues suffered from work-related illnesses and accidents, which are often the result of negligence,” explained Dominic Thomson, an EJF researcher. “Because these vessels typically fish for two years straight, there are very few opportunities for authorities to inspect living and working conditions on board.”
Experts argue that stronger port-state measures are essential to reduce abuses, combat human trafficking, disrupt illicit supply chains, and limit the ability of non-compliant fleets to access global markets. Enhanced vessel inspections, improved transparency in ownership and crew recruitment, and accountability for states that provide logistical support to high-risk fleets are increasingly seen as essential to maritime security.
“Otherwise, they are complicit in what happens there,” warned Schvartzman, referring to the responsibility of states.
From a strategic standpoint, strengthening governance of the giant squid fishery requires science-based catch limits, independent monitoring, electronic surveillance, stricter transshipment controls, and robust port-state enforcement. These measures are not only about sustainability — they are central to maintaining rule-based maritime order, protecting coastal economies, and countering practices that challenge maritime governance, economic security, and regional stability in a region increasingly shaped by the expansion of China’s global fishing footprint.
