In a move that threatens to redefine the fishing infrastructure in the southern part of Argentina, Chinese company Fuzhou Hongdong Pelagic Fishery Co. signed an agreement with the Santa Cruz province to modernize five ports, install a fish processing plant, and provide logistical assistance to the Chinese fishing fleet, which from mile 201, one mile outside the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), preys on the Atlantic, Argentine platform Pescare reported.
“There are no examples of countries in which the local fishing industry prospers, where the Chinese fishing industry has been set up or has been given port support,” Milko Schvartzman, a researcher on illegal fishing in Latin America and coordinator of Oceans-Fishing Projects at Argentine nongovernmental organization (NGO) Circle of Environmental Policies, told Diálogo.
Under the Communist Party
Hongdong Fisheries is China’s second largest fishing company, with a fleet of more than 160 vessels. It is linked to the Poly Group Corp, a state-owned conglomerate with direct connections to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. Its executive director Lan Ping Yong was a delegate to the National People’s Congress, the most powerful body under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, Circle of Environmental Policies indicated in a study.
“China is coming for our resources. There is no reason to ask the Chinese for a hand — which won’t be free — to solve Argentina’s problems, and even less of a reason to try to eliminate illegal fishing by giving them access to our ports or providing them with logistics facilities,” César Augusto Lerena, South Atlantic and fishing expert and president of the Center for Latin American Fisheries Studies (CESPEL), told Argentine media outlet Visión Federal. “Illegal fishing not only causes economic, biological, environmental, and social damage, but also leads to violations in the areas of slave labor and drug trafficking.”
Negotiations for the agreement that began in October 2024 culminated with a letter of intent Santa Cruz Governor Claudio Vidal signed in Fuzhou, Fujian province. Hongdong Fisheries’ track record in other regions is an additional cause for concern because it would play an additional part in China’s global depredation of the high seas. With a history of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, its vessels operate at the limit of South American EEZs, the Argentine House of Representatives argued in November, in a resolution to repudiate the letter of intent.
“We view this issue with great unease. We don’t know the real scope, but if it ends up being a promise to open ports to the foreign fleet, it is very worrisome and puts us on alert,” said Eduardo Boiero, president of the Argentine Chamber of Shipowners and Fishers and Freezers (CAPeCA), Argentine daily Urgente 24 reported. “The issue is that it will not be merely an opening of ports for foreign fleets. For now, there is concern about trying to understand the scope of what has been agreed.”
According to the Circle of Environmental Policies, in view of Santa Cruz’s move to open its ports to the fleet operating at mile 201, “it should be considered that Chinese fishing companies are subsidized by the Chinese state. The construction of each vessel is 50 percent paid for by the state, and fuel and navigation equipment are also provided by the state.”
“Argentine shipowners cannot compete with companies that receive subsidies and do not comply with regulations,” Schvartzman said. “China is not just looking to invest, but to control ports and manage natural resources. This poses serious threats to environmental and labor sustainability in the region.”
Illegal fishing hubs
This agreement would cause Argentina to become a hub for vessels that engage in IUU fishing and violate workers’ human rights, Argentine news site Agenda Malvinas reported. Hongdong Fisheries’ ships have been accused of intentionally turning off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) to hide their location and evade controls, while their crews work in inhumane and exploitative working conditions.
Concerns about this potential project in Santa Cruz are growing because it would also involve other Chinese fishing companies with operations near the Argentine EEZ, such as Zhoushan Huaxi Fisheries, Rongcheng Rongyuan, and Shanghai Kunting Import.
“The Chinese fishing fleet is known for its illegal operations, damage to the marine ecosystem of the South Atlantic and the Argentine Sea, the negative impact on local employment and economies, human rights abuses of crewmembers, and the threat to navigation safety,” Schvartzman concluded. “It is not advisable for the national government and/or provincial governments to authorize any port in our territory that would provide services to Chinese IUU fishing fleets or any other flag with a history of IUU fishing, as this will have even more negative consequences in the provinces that live off fishing.”
Amid squid fishing season, Argentine authorities have observed an increase in Chinese fishing vessels operating close to the South American EEZ. More than 500 foreign vessels have been fishing at mile 201, most of which are owned by China, Argentine news site Agenda Malvinas reported.
In response to the increase in the Chinese fishing fleet, the Maritime Joint Command of the Argentine Armed Forces’ Joint Chiefs of Staff (EMCFA) has escalated control and surveillance activities with patrol aircraft and vessels in waters under its jurisdiction, and in the area adjacent to the EEZ, the EMCFA indicated.
