China 



China possesses the only major Asian distant-water fishing fleet which is still growing significantly. Compared 

 to its more developed East Asian neighbors, the Chinese distant-water fishing fleet is still in its infancy, having 

 started in 1985 when 12 Chinese trawlers from Mawei, Fujian Province, began fishing in the eastern Atlantic off 

 West Africa. The Chinese distant-water fleet has grown steadily since 1985, and should continue to grow for the 

 foreseeable future. 



Contents 



I. Distant-water Fishing Fleets 14 



A. Trawlers 15 



B. Squid Jiggers 15 



C. Driftnet Vessels 15 



D. Distant-water Tuna Vessels 15 



II. Government Promotion of Shipbuilding 16 



III. Current Status of Shipbuilding 16 



IV. Government Regulation of Fleet Sizes 16 



V. Vessel Imports 16 



VI. Access to Foreign Fishing Grounds 17 



A. Former Soviet Union/Russian Federation 17 



B. East Asia 17 



C. Oceania 17 



D. Africa/Middle East 18 



E. Latin America 18 



F. North America 19 



VII. Outlook 19 



A. Trawlers 19 



B. Squid Jiggers 19 



C. Driftnet Vessels 19 



D. Distant-water Tuna Vessels 20 



Sources 20 



Appendices 23 



I. Distant-water Fishing Fleets 



Statistics for the Chinese distant-water fishing fleet 

 are scarce and extremely difficult to verify, but one 

 source estimates that 319 Chinese distant-water fishing 

 vessels caught approximately 300,000 tons (t) of fish in 

 1992.' Data from Lloyd's of London indicates there 

 are 26 Chinese fishing vessels greater than 500 gross 

 registered tons (appendix A). The majority of these 



vessels are probably stem trawlers, most of which are 

 targeting groundfish in the North Pacific Ocean. 



Catch data for the Chinese distant-water fleet is 

 also scarce, but overall Chinese catch statistics indicate 

 Chinese fisheries are rapidly expanding in all sectors 

 (appendix B). Chinese catch tripled from 4.2 million 

 tons in 1980 to 13.1 million t in 1991. Most of the 

 increase can be attributed to increased harvests of 

 freshwater carp species, but increased harvests are also 

 evident among marine species. Chinese catch of the 



