How The Global Powerhouse Is Firming Its Grip On Tuna

China, from the Western side of the Pacific Ocean, is working hard to boost its geopolitical power, and has used its large size and perceived global significance to increase its influence in the tuna-rich Pacific island region. The country is keen to boost access for its extensive and expanding tuna fleet in the EEZs and high seas within this area.

As the nation’s prominence in the global tuna industry grows bigger, not just in fishing, but also in processing, there are questions as to what the core motive behind this expansion is, especially at a time where there are growing concerns over the state of tuna stocks. A big part of this could be linked to future food security.

Although tuna is not yet a big part of the Chinese diet, developing the right influence in tuna-rich waters now, and the infrastructure, industry and employment to go with it, may be the ticket to China feeding its ever growing population with a protein rich food source in years to come.

One directive from Beijing to boost the domestic promotion of tuna, as a highly nutritious and healthy food source, has power to spur consumption and domestic production, and in one swipe could change the entire global supply pattern of tuna. If canned tuna consumption in China was to meet the per capita rate of the US, for example, the country would need around 1.3 million tons of the product per year to feed its people.

In working towards a future with more presence in the industry, for now, the Chinese fleet has increased its tuna hauls considerably, and delivers some catch to other nations, while what is landed in China is largely processed and exported.

It was recently reported by the New York Times that China’s own coastal fisheries have been pushed to the limit, and while the catch of shrimp and other species used to be plenty, now near-shore fishermen real in nearly empty nets.

With its enormous population, growing wealth to buy seafood, and the world’s largest fleet of deep sea fishing vessels, in a bid to keep up catch and provide food and employment security to its people, China is now having an outside impact on the globe’s oceans.

After China is already said to have depleted seas close to home, fishermen from the country are sailing further to exploit the waters of other countries, journeys that are said to often be subsidized by a government more concerned with domestic unemployment and food security than the health of the world’s oceans and the countries that depend on them.

China’s ambition to secure a future protein rich tuna supply is likely driven by its strongly growing population. Since 1960, the number of inhabitants in China has nearly doubled, shooting up by a massive 94 percent, from around 667 million, to just less than 1.4 billion today.

While this population growth has slowed down somewhat in recent years, the nation has an ever expanding number of mouths to feed, and this is now being somewhat reflected in the increased capacity of its national fleet.

In 2015 it was noted that there were more than 1,300 heavily subsidized Chinese boats licensed to fish all fish species in the South Pacific area, with plans to expand the fleet by another 300 vessels that year.

Specifically catching tuna species, the WCPFC lists the registration of over 600 Chinese-flagged fishing vessels, mostly longliners, known to most heavily target albacore, and around 80 purse seiners more commonly targeting skipjack and yellowfin.

A very recent addition to the Chinese tuna fleet came in the shape of four longliners, owned by Pingtan Marine Enterprise, and now active in the Western Pacific Ocean. The company expects strong catch rates from the vessels that have joined its operations, and for each to generate USD 3 million in turnover every year.

As well as a strong concentration on albacore, the Chinese fleet has also substantially increased its supply of skipjack raw material to Thailand and the Philippines.

According to FAO statistics, Chinese flagged vessels overall caught a total of 151,000 tons of tuna in 2015. In that same year, the fleet delivered around 46,800 tons of whole round tuna to Bangkok, around 30 percent of its overall catch.

The increase in WCPO presence from China has been aided partly by fishing access deals secured by the Chinese tuna fleet in the Pacific EEZ of the Cook Islands, as well as in strengthening presence on the high seas. In 2015 it was reported that a total of 34 non-Cook Islands flagged seiners were licensed and authorized to fish in the nation’s EEZ, all of which were operated by two Chinese companies, flagged to China or FSM.

The 2015 MSC certification of the Cook Islands South Pacific albacore longline fishery caused significant controversy, related to the existence of Chinese vessels in the country’s EEZ. These are vessels from a nation that has been accused of strongly opposing any controls on the growth of fishing effort in the Pacific, and vessels that are believed to receive significant government subsidies in order to increase their tuna catch volume.

The situation of government support and rising catches is said to be putting the sustainability of certain tuna species at considerable risk. Southern albacore populations particularly were revealed in 2015 to be at alarming low levels, at just 40 percent compared to pre-fishing records. Not just within Pacific EEZs, but mostly on the high seas, Chinese expanding presence has got other fishing nations extremely concerned.

In the past, with a strategy of containment, the US navy patrolled the South Pacific region, keeping Chinese-flagged vessels back, and from breaking into the Pacific too strongly. The Chinese containment policy was a political term referring to the goal of US foreign policy to limit the economic and political growth of China.

The theory asserts that the United States needs a weak, divided China in order to continue its hegemony in the Asian continent.

However, China itself has increased its military presence through its navy and credited to this, as well as managing to gain access to certain Pacific EEZs, it has vigorously expanded its fishing operations in the region’s high seas. The Chinese defense budget has risen by double digits since 1989, and annual defense spending has doubled since 2008. While it has been stated that Chinese naval technology may still be significantly behind current US platforms, its believed this could change in the coming years, as China has plans to increase its navy to 351 ships by 2020.

As a result of this growing presence in not just defense, but also fishing, volumes of tuna landed by Chinese flagged vessels in recent years show a strong escalation from the country’s historic catch. While in 1990 the fleet reported total catch figures of around 450 tons, this climbed as high as 150,000 tons in 2015. It is important to note, however, that China has been accused in the past by other nations of misreporting its landings.

A recent study published in Marine Policy and titled; ‘China’s distant water fishing industry: Evolving policies and implications’ stated that “Chinese fishing companies struggle to keep accurate logbooks and observer data, properly identify bycatch and properly attribute catch to the correct country of origin”.

Previously, some in the industry have shared the view that the increase in the number of vessels registered to the Chinese flag, and the rise in reported tuna landings, is more about establishing records of fishing effort, rather than actually catching fish, to secure access to resource in the future. They say that this is another chapter in China’s long game to grab control of fisheries in the Pacific.

Another view has expressed that there are two games being played; while one is the political game to establish catch history and potential quota allocation, the other it to extinguish local fishing capacity in the Pacific region, with a flood of subsidized capacity under the Chinese banner.

In reaction to China’s strongly rocketing reported catch rates, many Pacific island nations have called for increased management of high seas areas, and in general for Pacific tuna stocks at annual RFMO meetings. But, despite the revelation of some alarming figures on tuna populations, Asian flagged nations, including China, have been resistant.

At the most recent WCPFC meeting in December 2016 for example, China, along with other Asian Distant Water Fishing Nations (DWFN), were seen as the main players in blocking the establishment of Harvest Control Rules (HCRs) for bluefin tuna, one of the most heavily depleted tuna stocks in the region.

This concerned other fishing nations as well as NGOs, as it showed reluctance from the country to take action even on a stock causing the most heightened concern. This gave indication to WCPFC members that if currently more healthy stocks reached similar low levels, HCR action would still not be prioritized by the likes of China.

As well as the country having bolstered its overall distant-water fishing fleet by 400 boats between 2014 and 2016 alone, there have been several recent investments from Chinese firms into tuna processing activities, which appear to also be part of the long-game in the country enhancing its future food security.

For the first time after a seven year halt, a partly Chinese owned tuna processing plant, based in the Pacific island of Vanuatu, saw the delivery of frozen tuna for processing, which had been caught in the nation’s EEZ. The facility is a joint venture between the Vanuatu government and China National Fisheries Corporation (CNFC).

Back on home ground, Chinese fishing company, Shanghai Kaichuang (SK), has revealed ambitious processing plans, with investment into a new tuna plant in the coastal region of East China, Zhoushan. It has pumped just over USD 29 million into the venture; a facility that will cover an area of 46,000 square meters.

The firm previously announced a joint venture with Tri Marine in 2015, but is now showing eagerness to increase its own presence in the global tuna market. In October last year, the same company acquired 100 percent of the iconic Spanish canned tuna producer, Hijos de Carlos Albo for USD 60 million; a deal that included the purchase of the well-known Albo tuna brand and the firm’s processing facilities based in the Galician region of Spain.

SK has largely thanked government subsidies for pulling it up from previous losses, and was eyeing a USD 1.2 million profit for 2016. Its Chairman has expressed a goal of the firm becoming a bigger player in the global tuna market.

Shanghai Fisheries Group (SF), a Chinese firm with over 80 vessels is the 60 percent owner of Kiribati Fish Limited, located on the Pacific island, and the first plant in the nation involved in fresh and frozen tuna processing. The company is also the full owner of Golden Ocean Fish of Fiji, which has been processing MSC certified albacore for the EU market. Through these two plants, SF started this year to focus on the supply and processing of Pacifical MSC certified frozen skipjack and yellowfin tuna, caught within PNA waters.

While not an extensive list yet, industry sources have told Atuna that they expect this small number of investments to be the first of many from Chinese firms in the global tuna industry, as they work to get a stronger grasp on this resource.

However, some obstacles could stand in the way of China’s tuna expansion plans, and the future relations, industry and food security it wants for the nation.

Recent reports have indicated for example that some Pacific countries are becoming uncomfortable with the growth of the Asian nation’s fleet, which they say is substantially supported by the government. This puts some doubt over how easily China will be able to continue to strengthen its ties in the Pacific island region.

Despite this, China still works to build its industry and infrastructure domestically, and this explains why the country has recently temporarily slashed import tariff on six species of frozen whole round tuna, in a bid to boost supply to its nation’s processors.

Data presented by Rabobank at the recent European Tuna Conference showed that Chinese tuna imports, mostly made up of whole round tuna, have risen notably in volume in recent years, touching nearly 80,000 tons in 2015. In the same year, it was shown that exports of all tuna products peaked over 200,000 tons in the stats presented.

While these figures show signs that most of what is produced in China is being shipped out as export, the rise in production fits with the country’s ambition to secure a solid position in both tuna trade and processing for a future avenue to feed its people.

Nevertheless, the appetite for canned tuna among Chinese people is undoubtedly already growing. Although small compared to the likes of the EU, Japan and the US, and tiny for its actual size, the Chinese tuna market has been viewed as one of the very few growing markets globally; not just for canned tuna, but fresh and frozen too.

The magnitude of the country’s middle class expansion is transforming the nation’s appetite and spending power. It’s believed that canned tuna imports are currently anywhere between 10,000 to 20,000 tons, but quality of data leaves it difficult to put a more exact accurate number on this volume.

By expanding its fleet ambitiously, by taking attempts to firm up Pacific ties, and by making big strides into tuna processing, China, a leader in industry, economics and innovation, shows eagerness to put its name at the top of the global tuna business; not only for the development of infrastructure, but to cement itself as a political powerhouse, and to ultimately provide its billions in future years with vital employment and protein rich food.

How other fishing nations will continue to react to this bold strategy from the Asian nation, and to what extent they will allow China to keep expanding at the vigorous pace it is displaying, will become clear as future RFMO meetings will look for consensus to address issues around threatened tuna stocks, fleet overcapacity, and Harvest Control Rules.

With the US, largely seen as China’s biggest geopolitical competitor, taking a much more protectionist and isolationist stance under a Trump presidency, China will likely be waiting to see if this position is also reflected in the tuna industry. Eyes will be on the US fleet to see if its presence within Pacific island waters fades further, and leaves possible chance for China to muscle in.

Either way, China’s ambitions are clear, and the nation has shown it may go to any lengths to secure the position it strives for, with the sustainability of crucial tuna stocks possibly taking a backseat.