Study: China's squid fleet avoids Peru to dodge new port law

A port regulation adopted by Peru to combat illegal fishing by Chinese squid vessels appears to have backfired and driven the world's largest overseas fishing fleet deeper into the shadows, increasing the risk of forced labor, according to new research.

Peru in 2020 began requiring any foreign fishing boat entering its ports to use a vessel monitoring system allowing its activities to be tracked in real time 24 hours a day. The equipment, which tracks a vessel’s geographic position and fishing activity through a proprietary satellite communication system, sought to provide authorities with visibility into several hundred Chinese squid vessels that every year amass off the west coast of South America. With the support of Global Fishing Watch, a non-profit that encourages sustainable fishing, Peru joined a handful of countries making the information publicly available as well.

Decades of overfishing have pushed China’s fishing fleet farther from home. But its expansion to far-flung locations has been dogged by accusations of illegal fishing on the high seas, as well as instances of forced labor. It’s also drawn stiff criticism from the United States, which has made combatting illegal fishing a top priority and recently boosted efforts to monitor the Chinese fleet off the coast of South America.

Instead of increasing oversight, the new Peruvian regulations appear to have driven Chinese ships away from the country's ports — and kept crews made up of impoverished Filipinos and Indonesians at sea for longer periods, exposing them to abuse, according to new research published by Peruvian fishing consultancy Artisonal.