Something smells fishy in Washington report: China Daily editorial

It is no coincidence that both China and Russia are among the six parties the United States has identified for engaging in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing around the world.

The 2023 Report to Congress on Improving International Fisheries Management that the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released last week lacks evidence to prove its claims, and shows how low Washington can stoop to leverage common global issues to serve its own narrow ends.

The US report goes against international law and customary international practice, according to which the IUU activities of individual fishing vessels should not be attributed to their countries.

As Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, there is no legal basis whatsoever for the US to broadly identify a country for IUU fishing based on the activities of a small number of fishing vessels. Such sweeping allegations by the US are nothing but political manipulation and will seriously disrupt global cooperation on fishing.

It is even more ridiculous that, in its statement on the report, which in essence is part of the US' smear-China-and-Russia campaign, the US Department of State has authorized itself to address all global challenges in the field. No wonder the report has gone to great lengths to link the issue with security-related challenges to the US.

Being the largest single-country market for fish and aqua products and the fifth-largest wild-caught seafood producer does not give the US the authority to behave like the world's sheriff, especially because it has exceeded the catch limits for tuna in the Western and Central Pacific, violating international laws. Worse, at the recent annual meeting of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, the US was suspected to be involved in 13 IUU fishing activities — more than any other member country.

In contrast, China, as a responsible country, is committed to promoting conservation and sustainable use of marine resources. It exercises the right to develop and use marine resources in accordance with international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

China fulfills its international obligations, and has established a comprehensive system of distant-water fisheries management. It has actually taken the lead in implementing voluntary fishing moratoriums in certain parts of the high seas and worked with the international community to prevent IUU fishing.

Also, China has joined eight regional fisheries management organizations including the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, and its compliance record has been high in all of those organizations.

Instead of pointing a finger at other countries, the US needs to first take a hard look at itself and think seriously about how to stop American vessels from indulging in IUU fishing.