The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs held a press conference at 10 a.m. on September 30, 2024 to introduce the special law enforcement actions to strengthen the marine off-season fishing moratorium, conserve offshore fishery resources, and answer questions from reporters. Ding Bin, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and Deputy Director of the General Office:
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, friends from the media. Welcome to the press conference held by the Information Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the theme of today's press conference is to introduce the special law enforcement action to strengthen the marine off-season fishing moratorium and conserve coastal fishery resources. Today, we have invited Mr. Liu Xinzhong, Director of the Fisheries and Fishery Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Mr. Wang Ge, Second-level Inspector of the Public Security Administration of the Ministry of Public Security, Mr. Liu Dejun, Deputy Director of the Law Enforcement Department of the China Coast Guard, and Mr. Sun Haiwen, Deputy Director of the Fisheries and Fishery Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, to introduce the relevant situation and answer your questions. I am Ding Bin, spokesperson and deputy director of the General Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
First of all, I would like to invite Mr. Liu Xinzhong to introduce the relevant situation.
Liu Xinzhong, Director of the Fisheries and Fishery Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs: Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the media, hello everyone! From the beginning of May to the middle of September every year, we implement a marine off-season fishing moratorium of different durations in three sea areas, with a maximum duration of four and a half months. This policy is a major system for the conservation of marine fishery resources on the mainland, and has attracted great attention from all quarters. In recent years, on the basis of scientific assessment of the status of fishery resources, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has optimized and adjusted the marine off-season fishing moratorium system on many occasions from the perspective of the unity of conservation and sustainable utilization of fishery resources, and implemented special fishing for special economic species and types of fishing vessels. Practice has proved that the system is running smoothly and the people are satisfied. At the same time, coastal areas have strengthened the enhancement and release of fish, strengthened the protection of aquatic wildlife, and taken multiple measures to conserve coastal fishery resources.
Strict law enforcement is a key part of ensuring the implementation of the fishing moratorium system. In order to strengthen law enforcement and supervision, ensure that the system is implemented in place and effective, in recent years, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security, and the China Coast Guard have continued to jointly organize and carry out special law enforcement actions for marine off-season fishing moratoriums, severely crack down on all kinds of fishing-related illegal activities, strengthen the law enforcement and supervision of special fishing vessels of special economic species and types of operations, and maintain the order of the fishing moratorium in the off-season. This year's marine off-season fishing moratorium has come to an end. Next, I would like to inform you about the relevant situation of law enforcement and supervision. This year, the three departments continued to guide the law enforcement forces in coastal areas, strengthened supervision and management, highlighted the key points of law enforcement, investigated and dealt with major cases, and severely cracked down on all kinds of fishing-related violations of laws and regulations. According to incomplete statistics, a total of 696,000 law enforcement officers, 118,000 vehicles, 62,000 boats and 142 aircraft have been dispatched, making the law enforcement force more substantial. Law enforcement efforts have been continuously improved, with 1.171 million nautical miles of water inspections, 3.238 million kilometers of land inspections, 499,000 inspections of fishing vessels, 112,000 fishing port wharves and natural mooring points for fishing boats, and full coverage of supervision in key areas and key objects. The effect of law enforcement has become more prominent, with 7,298 fishing-related "three no" vessels, 111,000 "no-account nets", 886,000 extension meters of illegal nets laid at sea, and 529 centralized dismantling and destruction activities organized to form a strong deterrent. 9,770 cases of violations of laws and regulations were investigated and dealt with, of which 1,176 cases were transferred to justice for handling, and 4,139 people were investigated for criminal responsibility. At the same time, we have noticed that all persons suspected of committing crimes are handed over to the judicial organs for investigation of criminal responsibility, and the connection between executions and executions has been very smooth. After careful planning and strict supervision, this year's marine off-season fishing moratorium system has been implemented well and the expected results have been achieved. First, the fishing moratorium is in good order. On May 1, nearly 120,000 fishing boats returned to Hong Kong, millions of fishermen went ashore, and fishery administration, public security, and coast guards carried out large-scale, high-density patrols and inspections in the whole sea area, forming a good situation of strict from the beginning. In the process of the fishing moratorium, all localities have strengthened inspections at sea, standardized the management of fishing vessels in the port, and ensured that the fishing moratorium order continues to be good and stable, and there have been no mass violations of the fishing moratorium system. According to the feedback from the poll on the social conditions of the relevant coastal provinces, more than 95% of the respondents believe that the order of this year's fishing moratorium will be more standardized and orderly. Second, resources have been restored. After several months of recuperation and restocking, the resources of most species have been increased, the potential income of fishermen and the supply of aquatic products have been improved, and the expected results of the fishing moratorium in the off-season have been good. According to the fishing information collected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, since the start of fishing this year, the fishing output of major economic species such as hairtail fish and mackerel has increased. Taking the South China Sea as an example, the average daily catch of single-trawling vessels increased significantly after the fishing moratorium, including shellfish increased by 9.4 times, crabs increased by 3.7 times, cephalopods increased by 2.3 times, and the production of fish such as goldenrod also increased significantly. Third, the social atmosphere is strong. On May 1, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security, and the China Coast Guard jointly held a special law enforcement action in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, which released a strong signal to the society and effectively enhanced the society's understanding and concern for the fishing moratorium. Major mainstream media have repeatedly reported on the fishing moratorium in the summer season. Various localities have adopted various forms and channels such as publicity display boards, video clips, group text messages, banners and slogans, and case explanations to carry out multi-angle and all-round publicity on the laws, regulations, and system requirements of the marine off-season fishing moratorium, and the marine off-season fishing moratorium system has become more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the concept of "understanding, recognizing, participating in, and maintaining" the marine off-season fishing moratorium has become a common practice in the fishing area. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues from the public security, coast guard and fishery administration front for their hard work in the process of implementing the tasks of law enforcement and supervision of the marine off-season fishing moratorium and the conservation of fishery resources, and thank the coastal fishermen for their understanding and support of the marine off-season fishing moratorium, and thank all sectors of society for their concern and support for the fishery and fishery administration work. In the next step, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security, the China Coast Guard and other relevant departments will continue to guide all localities to do a good job in fishing-related management and law enforcement after the marine fishing moratorium. The first is to strengthen the supervision of fishery safety production, strengthen the investigation of hidden dangers and safety precautions in key areas, and keep the bottom line of fishery safety production. The second is to continue to crack down on all kinds of fishing-related illegal activities, such as "electric poison bombing" fish, the use of "three nos" vessels related to fishing, and fishing with "no-account nets", so as to maintain the order of fishery production and conserve aquatic biological resources. The third is to continue to strengthen law enforcement and supervision in the field of aquaculture, further standardize aquaculture production, and take multiple measures to ensure the quality and safety of aquatic products, so that the people can "eat at ease". Now, my colleagues and I are ready to answer questions from journalists. Ding Bin: Now let's move on to the Q&A session, please inform your news organization before asking a question.
China Fishery News:
We understand that in recent years, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has adjusted the marine fishing moratorium policy many times and taken a series of measures in the conservation of offshore fishery resources. Thank you.
Liu Xinzhong: Thank you for your question, I will answer this question. Affected by natural factors and human activities, since the 50s of the 20th century, because of more human beings, more consumption, and more fishing, marine fishery resources have begun to show a downward trend. Fisheries authorities have taken a variety of measures to protect resources. In recent years, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has issued a series of policies to continuously strengthen the conservation and sustainable use of fishery resources. The first is to optimize and adjust the fishing moratorium system in the off-season to control the fishing intensity. It has successively optimized and improved the marine off-season fishing moratorium system, further extended the fishing moratorium, and promoted the recuperation of offshore fishery resources. At present, the start time of the marine off-season fishing moratorium has been unified to May 1 every year, the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea north of 35 degrees north latitude will start fishing on September 1, the Yellow Sea and East China Sea between 35 and 26 degrees 30 minutes north latitude will start fishing on September 16, and the East China Sea and South China Sea between 26 degrees 30 minutes north latitude and 12 degrees north latitude will start fishing on August 16. It is necessary to formulate and implement a "dual control" system for the total management of marine fishery resources and marine fishing, to control the total domestic marine fishing output to less than 10 million tons, and to control the number of large and medium-sized fishing vessels in the ocean within the existing 50,000, which will only decrease but not increase. The second is to build marine ranches, carry out breeding and release, and strengthen the management of aquatic germplasm resources protection areas. We will build 169 national-level marine ranches, put more than 2,000 empty cubic meters of artificial reefs, and increase and release more than 200 billion marine species every year, effectively increasing and releasing and restoring coastal fishery resources. Carry out the investigation of offshore fishery resources and the monitoring of the ecological environment of fishery waters on a regular basis, carry out a thorough investigation of 51 marine national aquatic germplasm resources protection areas, strictly demonstrate the environmental impact assessment of fishery-related projects, and strictly organize the review of projects related to protected areas. The third is to strengthen the protection of precious and endangered marine wildlife. Revise the Wildlife Protection Law, formulate and revise supporting regulations, rules and normative documents, consolidate the institutional foundation for the protection of aquatic wildlife, issue and implement action plans for the protection of marine flagship species such as spotted seals, sea turtles, and Chinese white dolphins, and do a good job in the release of marine wildlife that has been confiscated or rescued. Since 2021, more than 1,300 species such as sea turtles and spotted seals have been released and confiscated and rescued. Organize and carry out the Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Science Popularization Month, and actively participate in the international implementation of the Convention. With the continuous implementation of a series of measures, remarkable results have been achieved in the conservation of fishery resources in the coastal waters of the mainland, and the trend of resource decline has been initially alleviated. According to scientific research and monitoring, in recent years, the amount of coastal fishery resources in mainland China has fluctuated slightly in different years, but the overall trend is stable. Some varieties continue to improve. The maximum sustainable output of offshore fishery resources is maintained at more than 10 million tons. According to statistics, from 2018 to 2023, the fishing output of the mainland's coastal waters will be stable at about 9.5 million tons, the fishing output of major economic fish such as hairtail, anchovy, squid and pike crab will remain stable, the fishing output of mackerel, pomfret and squid will increase steadily, and the population of precious and endangered aquatic wild animals such as Chinese white dolphins, spotted seals and sea turtles will also show a positive trend. Thank you.
Cover News: During this year's fishing moratorium, the public security organs have cracked a number of illegal fishing cases. Thank you.
Liu Xinzhong:
I would like to ask Comrade Wang Ge of the Ministry of Public Security to answer this question.
Wang Ge, second-level inspector of the Public Security Administration Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security: Thank you for your question. Through the combing and analysis of the illegal fishing cases cracked this year, we find that the relevant crimes mainly present the following characteristics: First, the characteristics of gangs are prominent. Illegal fishing crimes often include fishing, transportation, sorting, sales and other links, so most of the illegal fishing cases cracked are committed by gangs, and the gangs are organized in an orderly manner and have a clear division of labor. This year, the public security organs in Shandong, Liaoning, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hebei, Tianjin, Shanghai and other places have smashed a number of criminal gangs engaged in illegal fishing, and have carried out a full-chain crackdown on their behind-the-scenes organizations, fishing at sea, stalking and releasing wind, ship scheduling, sorting and weighing, cargo transportation, and market sales of stolen goods. Second, the concealment feature is significant. In order to evade the crackdown, criminals involved in illegal fishing mainly commit crimes at night, and their criminal activities are hidden. In addition, some criminals use relatives and friends as a link to collude to carry out illegal fishing operations, and the members are relatively fixed and not easy for outsiders to detect. In the name of organizing recreational fishing, some of them carry out packaging and cover, but in fact engage in illegal fishing activities and sell their catches for huge profits. Third, the degree of motorization is relatively high. Judging from the cases of illegal fishing related to the sea that have been cracked during the fishing moratorium in the past two years, there have been cases of lawbreakers using modified high-powered speedboats to carry out illegal fishing, which has brought great risks and hidden dangers to the safety of maritime law enforcement. In view of the new characteristics of illegal fishing crimes related to the sea, the public security organs have made full use of the new police operation model of "professional + mechanism + big data" to successfully detect a number of major illegal fishing cases. On June 10, 2024, the Coastal Safety and Security Bureau of the Public Security Bureau of Dalian City, Liaoning Province found that there were suspicious ships illegally fishing in the waters of Huayuankou in Dalian. More than 150 sets of nets were banned, and more than 9,000 kilograms of fish were seized. According to the investigation, since the fishing moratorium, the criminal gang has laid thousands of drift gillnets and ground rolling cages in the coastal waters, caught nearly 22,000 kilograms of fish, and made illegal profits of more than 60 yuan. In the next step, the public security organs will continue to maintain a high-pressure and hard-hitting posture against illegal fishing crimes related to the sea, conduct in-depth research on the characteristics of such crimes, give full play to the application of smart scientific and technological means, severely crack down on marine fishery crimes, effectively maintain the order of marine fishery production, and promote the green and high-quality development of the marine economy. Thank you.
Science and Technology Daily reporter:
The China Coast Guard, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs have jointly carried out special law enforcement operations against marine fishing moratoriums for many years. What are the new measures and methods of the China Coast Guard in this year's special law enforcement operation? Thank you.
Liu Dejun, Deputy Director of the Law Enforcement Department of the China Coast Guard:
Thank you for your question. The marine off-season fishing moratorium is an important fishery resource protection system in the mainland, which plays an important role in promoting the sustainable development of fisheries. In recent years, the China Coast Guard has attached great importance to the enforcement of the fishing moratorium during the off-season, and has cooperated with relevant departments such as the public security and fishery administration to strengthen patrol supervision, crack down on all kinds of illegal activities, and maintain the order of the off-season fishing moratorium. This year, the China Coast Guard has actively innovated control measures and means to further improve the rate of boarding and inspection, boarding and inspecting more than 10,000 fishing vessels and investigating and punishing more than 2,500 fishing vessels that violate laws and regulations. The first is to strengthen the supervision of sea and land linkage, adhere to the case of the sea, sea and land linkage, joint local public security, fishery departments to increase the intensity of port and wharf inspections, the implementation of key sea area inspection, key place inventory, key road section inspection, key channel inspection and other systems, strengthen the supervision of fishing vessels in Hong Kong and the monitoring of small and remote wharves, in view of the control difficulties such as high-horsepower speedboats and "three no" ships, many times to carry out special crackdown on sea and land linkage, seized nearly 700 "three no" ships. The second is to build a three-dimensional law enforcement model. Make full use of helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and other new quality forces, organize ships and aircraft to carry out high-density three-dimensional inspections of the waterways that fishing vessels must pass through, key fishing areas and sea areas near the bottom trawl no-fishing area, and form a three-dimensional sea and air control network through aerial search and guidance for ships to accurately investigate and arrest. In mid-May, the Beihai Branch of the Coast Guard organized coordinated naval and air operations and seized 14 high-powered speedboats. During the special operation to suspend fishing in the off-season, a total of 98 helicopter sorties were dispatched, and 310 clues of various violations of laws and regulations were discovered. The third is to strengthen the application of scientific and technological means. Strengthen the fishing vessel rescue system, fishing vessel dynamic monitoring and other system platforms on duty, timely push fishing vessel dynamic information to mission ships, improve the pertinence of patrol law enforcement, and comprehensively use near-shore monitoring, radar, satellite remote sensing and other means to promote the application of "science and technology +" and "wisdom +" law enforcement models. The Fujian Coast Guard Bureau comprehensively used unmanned aerial vehicles, near-shore radar and other information means to seize 8 large and medium-sized illegal fishing boats and arrested 34 people involved in the case. Thank you.
Reporter of Economic Daily:
Director Liu Xinzhong just mentioned that special fishing of special economic species and four types of fishing vessels will be implemented during the off-season fishing moratorium. Can you tell us more about that? Thank you.
Liu Xinzhong:
That's a good question. As we all know, China's marine off-season fishing moratorium system has attracted great attention at home and abroad. The core of our system is to protect resources, restore resources, and let resources have a recuperation. In the process of implementation, we also found that through the research of scientists and the feedback of local fishermen, some species are caught in a certain amount of time and in a certain area without affecting the resources. To some extent, it may also be beneficial to increase supply and enrich the food basket of the common people. To this end, since 2017, we have allowed special fishing of specific species and specific types of operations in specific areas during the off-season fishing moratorium every year. This is an important complement to the marine off-season fishing moratorium. After years of practice, the types of special fishing species and operations during the off-season fishing moratorium have been continuously expanded, and the management has become more standardized, and good practical results have been achieved. In 2024, there will be a total of 9 special economic species and 4 types of operations (truss trawling shrimp, cage pots, gillnets and light seine nets), and 20,386 special fishing vessels will be licensed, including 5,834 fishing vessels of special economic species, 12,805 fishing vessels of 4 types of operations, and 1,747 fishing auxiliary vessels. The core of allowing special fishing is to manage it well. One is to control these special fishing and not destroy resources. The second is to prevent the system of fishing moratorium from being impacted.
In order to implement the special fishing system under the premise of ensuring the overall situation of the fishing moratorium in the off-season, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and relevant coastal localities have strengthened organization and leadership, paid close attention to key links, and realized the supervision and standardized and orderly implementation of the whole process of special fishing. The first is to strictly control access. It has successively gone through local declaration, expert review, social publicity, approval and issuance of certificates, and strives to be open, fair and just. Who can fish, when to fish, and how much to catch, to achieve fairness and justice. The second is to strengthen regulatory measures. Implement the dynamic monitoring of fishing vessel positions, the landing of catches at designated points, the reporting of fishing vessels entering and leaving the port, and the production statistics system, urge fishing vessels to truthfully fill in the fishing logs, and report the data of entry and exit and catch through the "Fishing Port Connect APP". The third is to strictly investigate illegal acts. Our ministry, together with the Ministry of Public Security and the China Coast Guard, has taken the special fishing of the marine off-season fishing moratorium as the key task of the "China Fishery Policy Bright Sword 2024" and the special law enforcement of the marine off-season fishing moratorium, and strengthened full-time monitoring, full-area coverage, and full-link supervision to ensure that the special fishing is standardized and orderly. Fourth, strengthen scientific and technological support. Organize and carry out dynamic monitoring of fishery resources, assess the status of resources, dynamically monitor fishing conditions, and evaluate the implementation effect.
On the whole, the management of special fishing during the off-season fishing moratorium is orderly, which has produced good ecological, economic and social benefits. First, the rational utilization of fishery resources has been realized. Most of the special economic species of special fishing are fishery resources with short growth cycles such as annual growth, with fast growth rate, good resource status, and relatively concentrated fishing and flood seasons. According to scientific assessment, proper fishing of these resources will not destroy the resources, and it can also make full use of fishery resources, ensure the supply of high-quality aquatic products, and promote the income of fishermen. According to preliminary statistics, in 2024, the special fishing output of the marine off-season fishing moratorium will be about 400,000 tons, with an output value of about 7 billion yuan, which effectively promotes the protection and rational utilization of resources, and realizes the market supply of aquatic products, the efficiency of fisheries and the increase of fishermen's income, which is welcomed by the majority of fishermen and local governments. Especially during the fishing moratorium, it is the summer vacation, and there is a batch of seafood along the coast that can be supplied to tourists who travel to the seaside through special fishing, which is also welcomed by the general public. Second, it has promoted the stability of the fishing moratorium in the off-season. The organization and implementation of special fishing during the fishing moratorium in the off-season conforms to the voice of the fishermen, and the combination of blockage and dredging reduces the occurrence of violations of laws and regulations and ensures the stability of the overall situation of the off-season fishing moratorium. Third, it has promoted the practice of fishing quota management. The special fishing benchmark fishing quota system requires the implementation of refined management of fishing vessels, operating hours, operating areas, fishing output, operation types, and main species, forcing competent departments at all levels to innovate management measures, improve law enforcement capabilities, accumulate management experience, and lay a good foundation for promoting the implementation of the fishing quota system.
In the next step, our ministry will aim to promote the conservation and rational utilization of marine fishery resources, improve the design of the special fishing system, expand the scope of special fishing in a steady and orderly manner, and promote the improvement of the resource conservation system. Thank you.
Hong Kong Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po reporters:
Can you tell us about the cooperation between the mainland and its neighboring countries in the conservation of fishery resources? The result?
Liu Xinzhong:
I would like to ask Comrade Sun Haiwen to answer this question.
Sun Haiwen, Deputy Director of the Fisheries and Fishery Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs:
Thank you for your question. The mainland has always attached great importance to cooperation with neighboring countries in the conservation of fishery resources, among which the joint development of breeding and restocking is a key measure to improve the effectiveness of the restoration of aquatic biological resources, show the image of China as a responsible fishery country, and promote the stability and improvement of bilateral fishery cooperation. In recent years, with the continuous cooperation and promotion of our neighboring countries, we have carried out joint breeding and release, and achieved remarkable results. The first is to carry out joint breeding and release of fishery resources between China and South Korea with Korea. Since 2018, China and the ROK have taken turns to host restocking activities under the framework of the China-ROK Fisheries Agreement, and good results have been achieved. At present, the two sides have jointly carried out five breeding and release activities, and a total of more than 7.9 million aquatic species such as small yellow croaker, large yellow croaker and greenfin pufferfish have been released into the Yellow Sea. On June 19 this year, the fifth China-South Korea joint breeding and release activity was held in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, Korea, and the two sides released nearly 4.3 million seedlings of various aquatic organisms into the Yellow Sea, exceeding the sum of the previous four breeding and release activities. The second is to carry out joint breeding and release of fishery resources in the Beibu Gulf with Viet Nam. Since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Enhancement, Stocking and Conservation of Fishery Resources in the Beibu Gulf in 2017, China and Vietnam have successfully held seven joint breeding and restocking activities, releasing more than 354 million aquatic fry into the Beibu Gulf, making important contributions to effectively alleviating the decline of fishery resources in the Beibu Gulf, improving the ecological environment of the waters, increasing fishery benefits and fishermen's income, and consolidating the relations between the two countries. On May 9 this year, the 7th China-Vietnam Beibu Gulf Joint Breeding and Release Activity was held in Fangchenggang City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and the two sides released a total of 128 million aquatic biological seedlings, setting a record for the largest number of Sino-Vietnamese joint breeding and releasing seedlings. The third is to carry out joint breeding and release with Russia in the border waters between China and Russia. The Heilongjiang River and the Ussuri River are the boundary rivers between China and Russia, with the main channel as the dividing line, and are jointly managed by China and Russia. This basin is the main habitat area of internationally endangered fish species such as Dab's fish and Sturgeon's sturgeon. In the past six years, China and Russia have released more than 3 million Da's fish and more than 10 million Shi's sturgeon in the Heilongjiang River Basin, which has greatly promoted the conservation and restoration of fish stocks in the Sino-Russian boundary river waters. On July 16 this year, a joint breeding and release activity was held in the Sanjiangkou Ecotourism Zone in Tongjiang City, Heilongjiang Province, where 3.43 million sturgeon and silver carp were released. The results of fishery resource conservation are not easy to come by, and it takes a long time to achieve them. There is a long way to go to promote the sustainable development of fisheries, and we will continue to promote joint breeding and fishery conservation with neighboring countries. Thank you.
China's Three Rural Affairs Reporter: During the off-season fishing moratorium on the mainland, some foreign fishing vessels are waiting for an opportunity to enter the waters under the jurisdiction of the mainland to carry out fishing encroachment activities. Thank you.
Liu Dejun:
Thank you for your questions. During the period of rest, some foreign fishing boats took advantage of the return of Chinese fishing boats to Hong Kong to suspend fishing, entered the waters under China's jurisdiction to carry out illegal fishing activities, infringing on China's maritime rights and interests, and endangering China's marine resources. The China Coast Guard has comprehensively strengthened its control and control, taking multiple measures, multi-point linkage, and multi-line attacks to resolutely curb the encroachment of foreign fishing vessels. The first is to strengthen normal patrol supervision. Deploy ships to patrol areas where foreign fishing vessels frequently invade fishing, optimize the deployment of warships and aircraft, carry out joint law enforcement actions with local fishery administration departments during key periods, and build a control model that connects far and near, combines points and lines, coordinates sea and air, and links across the region. The second is to severely crack down on rectification in accordance with the law. Distinguish between different nature of sea areas and different circumstances of violations, and employ measures such as shouting to drive away, boarding inspections, and detaining ports for investigation, and deal with foreign fishing vessels that encroach on fishing in accordance with laws and regulations. During the off-season, a total of 799 foreign fishing vessels were expelled, 46 were boarded and inspected, and 10 were detained for investigation, and the number of foreign fishing vessels was found to be 18% lower than that of the same period last year. The third is to strengthen the use of judicial means. In particular, the use of judicial means has been strengthened to strengthen the use of judicial means and intensify the crackdown and deterrence against foreign fishing vessels that have been escorted back to Hong Kong, in accordance with the mainland's Criminal Law, the Fisheries Law, and other laws and regulations, especially for fishing vessels engaged in electricity, poisoning, fish bombing, and coral poaching. Thank you.
Poster News Reporter: The law enforcement of the marine off-season fishing moratorium involves a wide range of areas and a long time, what are the key aspects of the fishery and fishery administration department? The result?
Liu Xinzhong:
Comrade Sun Haiwen, please, answer.
Sun Haiwen:
The mainland has a sea area of 3 million square kilometers, and under the premise that the maritime law enforcement force is limited, we must grasp the "bull's nose" of many illegal cases, great difficulty in management, and high social concern, concentrate our efforts, and investigate and handle a number of major and important cases with great social impact, high degree of concern, and strong deterrent effect, so as to give full play to the effectiveness of law enforcement and supervision. Specifically, there are three main perspectives:
The first is the key period. At the beginning of the fishing moratorium, we strengthened sea inspections and in-port inventory, and urged vessels that should be suspended from fishing to return to port in a timely manner, and fishing vessels that have returned to Hong Kong to implement the requirements of "netting in storage and people going ashore". On August 15 and September 1, the time difference between the two sea areas should be kept close to the boundary between the two sea areas of 35 degrees north latitude and 26 degrees 30 minutes north latitude, so as to strictly prevent fishing boats that start fishing first from crossing the line and entering the unopened waters to operate, which will have an impact on the order of the fishing moratorium in the off-season.
The second is key areas. Focus on areas such as Changdao, the Yangtze River Estuary, and the vicinity of Nanao Island, where cases have occurred frequently in previous years, and guide local governments to optimize the allocation of forces and strengthen daily supervision. In view of the fact that the problem of illegal fishing in the waters from Weizhou to Xieyang Island in Guangxi Province is relatively prominent, a special law enforcement action on illegal fishing in the waters bordering Guangdong, Guizhou and Qiong has been deployed, and the two provinces and one region have been guided to carry out in-depth inter-provincial law enforcement cooperation, and joint logistics linkage has formed a joint regulatory force. Organize and carry out inter-provincial cross-enforcement actions, enhance communication and law enforcement cooperation among localities, and further improve the effectiveness of law enforcement in key areas.
The third is the key targets, focusing on the prevention of non-local fishing suspension vessels, fishing auxiliary vessels, township vessels and other key fishing-related vessels, and strengthening the attention to practitioners with illegal fishing "records" in violation of the regulations on fishing moratorium. The "Notice on Continuously Increasing the Crackdown and Jointly Rectifying the "Three Nos" Vessels Involved in Fishing was issued, and the "Three Nos" Vessels Involved in Fishing with a focus on high-horsepower speedboats were continued to be severely cracked down, and the "Three Nos" vessels were discovered, confiscated, and dismantled together, so as to resolutely curb the hidden dangers that hinder the high-quality development of fisheries.
During this year's special law enforcement period for the fishing moratorium, various localities have seriously investigated and dealt with a number of major and important cases. In particular, from August 16th to 17th, on the basis of the collection of clues in the early stage and careful deployment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs deployed the fishery administration and law enforcement forces of Zhejiang Province to carry out the joint law enforcement of the "2024 East China Sea Assault Operation" simultaneously at 35 degrees north latitude, the sea area in central Zhejiang and 26 degrees 30 minutes north latitude, and arrested 45 suspected illegal fishing vessels (including 13 fishing boats), 520 people involved in the case, and seized more than 87,200 boxes (about 1,526 tons) of fish. This case involves the entire chain of interests of illegal "fishing, transportation, and marketing", and is the most complicated case involving illegal fishing vessels, the persons involved, and the number of prohibited catches cracked by the fishery and fishery administration department in a single operation in recent years. In addition, in order to further strengthen warning education and enhance the deterrent effect of the law, we will continue to release typical cases of fishery administration and law enforcement such as the marine off-season fishing moratorium this year, and we will also invite the media to pay attention to it at that time. Thank you.
Reporter from China Rural Revitalization Magazine:
At present, illegal fishing activities at sea are prone to frequent occurrences, how does the China Coast Guard, as a maritime law enforcement department, use criminal justice methods to rectify and crack down on it?
Liu Dejun:
Thank you for your question. During the off-season fishing moratorium, some fishing vessels violated the regulations and carried out illegal fishing activities on a large scale, seriously damaging marine biological resources. In response to serious illegal and criminal activities, the China Coast Guard adheres to "zero tolerance" and intensifies crackdowns and rectifications to deter lawbreakers and criminals. The first is to strictly manage and control, and strike hard. Adhere to the principles of full-time control, global coverage, and full-link supervision, implement the requirements for all ships to be discharged, boarded, and inspected, carry out large-scale, high-density patrols in the whole sea area, increase the frequency of boarding inspections, and jointly carry out special crackdown actions such as "Thunder" and "Clean Sea" with relevant departments in key sea areas and key time periods, and investigate and handle a total of 436 criminal cases of illegal fishing. On May 22, the Hebei Coast Guard Bureau organized the "Jihai Guardian" crackdown and rectification operation, seizing 12 fishing boats involved in the case and arresting more than 100 people involved in the case in one fell swoop. The second is to dig deep and thoroughly investigate and break the network and break the chain. In view of the characteristics and laws of illegal fishing, such as gang nature and organization, we should pay close attention to the whole process of "fishing, transportation, and marketing", strengthen the investigation and handling of major cases, investigate the channels of trafficking and sales, check the proceeds of crime, and investigate the backlog of hidden cases. On 9 May, the Guangdong Coast Guard Bureau dug deep and expanded the line and seized two cases of illegal fishing, which combined "catching, transporting, and selling," seizing 26,000 kilograms of fish. Third, it is necessary to combine attack and defense and mobilize the masses. Strengthen the publicity of policies, systems, laws and regulations, and combine opportunities such as the fifth anniversary of the opening of 95110 to adopt methods such as poster publicity, sending text messages, explaining cases with cases, and producing short videos, to strengthen warning education and create an atmosphere of striking hard. The Tianjin Coast Guard Bureau, together with the relevant local departments, concentrated on dismantling the "three nos" vessels and destroying the "no-account nets" and other illegal nets, and the Zhejiang Coast Guard Bureau and the local court openly tried the case of illegal fishing of aquatic products at the fishing port wharf, which played a very good deterrent and publicity effect. Thank you.
Farmer's Daily:
What experiences and practices have the coastal public security organs had in this year's special law enforcement work on the marine off-season fishing moratorium, and what results have they achieved?
Wang Ge:
Thanks for asking. It is an important measure to protect the marine ecology, and it is also an important duty and task of the public security organs to enforce the law for the people and serve the high-quality development of the marine season. The Ministry of Public Security attaches great importance to it, adheres to the simultaneous promotion of "crackdown, prevention and management", organizes public security organs in coastal areas to give full play to their functions and roles, and resolutely maintains a good order in fishery production. During this year's fishing moratorium, the public security organs of 11 coastal provinces cracked a total of 474 cases of illegal fishing related to the sea, arrested 1,639 criminal suspects, and seized 1,767.6 tons of fish, making positive contributions to maintaining the order of the fishing moratorium and promoting the development of the marine economy. First, we will make all-out efforts to crack down on illegal fishing activities related to the sea. The public security organs in various coastal areas have thoroughly studied and grasped the characteristics of the area, means, and time of the crime of marine fishery criminal activities, concentrated on tackling tough problems, made precise efforts, cracked down on them in accordance with the law, raised the investigation and handling of major cases, investigated behind the scenes, cracked down on gangs, and destroyed networks, and launched a fierce offensive against illegal fishing criminal activities. Second, we will make every effort to strengthen the management of public security in ports and ships. The public security organs in various coastal areas have adhered to the principle of "overall planning of land and sea, control of the sea by shore, promotion of prevention by crackdown, and promotion of construction by management", and strengthened patrols, prevention and control and public security inspections of ports, wharves and coastlines in combination with the investigation and rectification of sea-related risks and hidden dangers. A total of 49,500 key sea-related parts were inspected, 225,000 ships were inspected, and 4,350 potential safety hazards were supervised and rectified. Third, we will make every effort to strengthen inter-departmental coordination and cooperation. The public security organs in various coastal areas have further strengthened joint prevention and control by the military, police, and civilians, and have closely coordinated law enforcement with fishery administration, coast guard, and other sea-related departments. Coordinated the handling of 639 cases of illegal fishing in the sea, and jointly cracked down on marine fishery crimes. At the same time, all localities have given full play to the advantages of regional police cooperation, strengthened communication and cooperation in the sharing of data and information related to sea and fishery, crackdown and prevention, and factor control, and jointly built a solid coastal security barrier. Fourth, we will make every effort to carry out publicity and education on the rule of law. Public security organs in various coastal areas have gone deep into fishing ports and fishing villages, fishing companies, port and shipping enterprises and other key sea-related units, and carried out more than 11,000 legal publicity, warning education, and safety tips, creating a good social atmosphere. At the same time, measures such as announcing the reporting telephone number and opening a new media reporting interactive platform have stimulated the enthusiasm of the masses to participate. The marine off-season fishing moratorium is an important strategic deployment that benefits the present and future generations. The Ministry of Public Security will be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, strengthen organizational leadership, strengthen work deployment, organize coastal public security organs to further deepen linkage and cooperation with various sea-related departments, continuously summarize and refine practical experience, and make greater contributions to the healthy development of marine economy and fishery production. Thank you. Ding Bin:
This is the end of today's press conference, thank you for your strong support from the media, and thank you also for Mr. Liu Xinzhong, Mr. Wang Ge, Mr. Liu Dejun and Mr. Sun Haiwen for attending. Tomorrow is the National Day, and I wish you all a happy holiday and a happy family and country. Thank you!
Source: China.com
Photo: Zheng Liang
Editor: Zhu Zixing
Supervisors: Guo Wenping, Cai Weiping
Submission email: [email protected]