Chinese trawlers travel farthest and fish the most: study

BEIJING: China has the world´s largest and farthest-ranging fishing operation, outstripping the next 10 biggest combined, according to what researchers say is the most comprehensive and data-intensive study on the subject. Ships from China amassed approximately 17 million hours of fishing in 2016, mostly off the southern coast of their home country, but also as far away as Africa and South America. The next-biggest operation is Taiwan´s, with 2.2 million hours of fishing. The data, collected and analysed over five years by Global Fishing Watch, a non-profit that tracks fishing operations, represent the most comprehensive look at where, and how often, the world´s fishing boats operate. A study of the data is being published in the journal Science on Thursday. China is “the most important fishing nation,” David Kroodsma, Global Fishing Watch´s research and development director, who was the study´s lead author, said in an interview.