A U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane (WMEC 903) boarding team alongside Vanuatu Fishery Department and Police Maritime Wing officers start a fishery boarding on a fishing vessel in the Vanuatu Exclusive Economic Zone in the South Pacific Ocean, February 26, 2024. The U.S. Coast Guard and Vanuatu are collaborating to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in the region. Senior Chief Petty Officer Charly Tautfest/U.S. Coast Guard/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
SYDNEY 鈥� Six Chinese fishing boats were found to be violating Vanuatu鈥檚 fisheries law after being inspected by local police who were on board the first US Coast Guard boat to patrol the waters of the Pacific Islands nation, Vanuatu police and officials said.
The infringements included failing to record the fish caught in log books, a fisheries official told Reuters, noting it was the first time in several years police could inspect Chinese boats that fish in Vanuatu鈥檚 exclusive economic zone and then offload their catch in other countries.
One of the Chinese vessels that police said had breached the law is owned by Chinese state-owned company CNFC Overseas Fisheries, which has a joint venture with Vanuatu鈥檚 government, a Reuters review of ship registration details and company filings showed.
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Yakar Silas, principal monitoring, control and surveillance officer with Vanuatu鈥檚 Fisheries Department, said penalty notices would be sent to several Chinese companies and their local agents in Vanuatu.
Most violations were by Chinese fishing fleets that fished Vanuatu waters but were based overseas, he said.
鈥淭he patrol gave the opportunity to inspect foreign vessels that are fishing in Vanuatu waters and not coming into port and offloading their catch into foreign ports, for example Fiji,鈥� he added. 鈥淭hey are all Chinese vessels.鈥�
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The Chinese embassies in Vanuatu and Fiji, where some of the Chinese vessels are based, did not respond to a request for comment.
Sino-Van director Zhang Junwei said in an email to Reuters that Salwai is 鈥渟upportive of the Sino-Van project鈥�. The CNFC vessel depicted in U.S. Coast Guard photographs did not belong to the company鈥檚 Vanuatu branch, he added.
The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Harriet Lane patrolled Vanuatu waters for the first time last week. Last year, a Coast Guard vessel on patrol for illegal fishing was refused access to Vanuatu鈥檚 port.
China is Vanuatu鈥檚 largest external creditor, and Beijing and Washington are jostling for influence and security ties in the strategically important Pacific Islands region. Political instability in Vanuatu last year saw two prime ministers unseated in a matter of weeks.
A decade ago, CNFC formed a joint venture with Vanuatu鈥檚 government, promising to open a local tuna cannery to bring greater revenue to the economy beyond the license fees from foreign fleets that fish Vanuatu鈥檚 exclusive economic zone.
The cannery hasn鈥檛 opened, and the company, Sino-Van, only sells frozen fish to the local market, a company director said.
Vanuatu鈥檚 Prime Minister Charlot Salwai and China鈥檚 ambassador Li Minggang visited Sino-Van on Feb. 27, the day after CNFC鈥檚 boat was boarded by the U.S. Coast Guard and police on Feb. 26.
A U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman confirmed the CNFC vessel, Zhong Shui 708, was among six Chinese vessels boarded by Vanuatu police who found infringements.
鈥淭he Vanuatu government will be the determining agency on what will happen with the violations,鈥� the U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman said.
Bianca Simeon, an inspector with the Vanuatu maritime police who boarded the fishing boats, said half of the boats inspected had violations. 鈥淭hey did not properly report the catch in their catch logs,鈥� she told Reuters.
Vanuatu police had not patrolled its EEZ for several years, she added.