China's 'dark' fishing fleets are plundering the world's oceans

When a vast Chinese armada appeared outside the Galapagos Marine Reserve in South America earlier this year, Ecuador's Government sounded the alarm. They called in the big guns, asking the United States Coast Guard to help keep an eye on the enormous number of fishing vessels.

The sheer size of the fleet fuelled Ecuador's urgency: more than 350 Chinese fishing boats were detected, outnumbering its own navy and those of Peru and Chile combined. Lieutenant-Commander Kristen Caldwell of the US Coast Guard, which sent a vessel down to the region to provide surveillance on the fleet, said the magnitude of fishing activity was unprecedented.

The flotilla was plundering waters that are among the most biodiverse in the world: the Galapagos Marine Reserve is home to the greatest biomass of sharks on the planet. Satellite tracking data showed the boats forming a near-perfect line along the boundary of Ecuador's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) — however the US Coast guard did not detect any of the Chinese boats cross over into Ecuadorian waters.

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