U.S. Congress: CCP Distant-Water Fishing Fleet Threatens Global Food Security and Ocean Stability

During operations to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in waters near Fiji, crew members aboard the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Stratton (WMSL-752) operate a small interceptor boat, closely trailing a Chinese fishing vessel. (February 19, 2022)

[Peopel News] A newly released joint investigative report by two committees of the U.S. House of Representatives warns that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) massive distant-water fishing fleet is being used by Beijing as a national strategic tool. It not only depletes global fishery resources but is also reshaping global food supply chains, posing threats to U.S. economic security and the international maritime order.

According to Voice of America, the report—titled “China’s Global Fishing Offensive”—was jointly released on Thursday (January 15) by the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (commonly known as the China Committee) and the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security. The report states that the CCP is the world’s largest perpetrator of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities and uses its fishing power to exert influence globally.

John Moolenaar, Republican congressman and chairman of the House China Committee, pointed out that U.S. food security is increasingly affected by the CCP’s dominance over supply chains. He said: “The Select Committee has documented multiple U.S. industries’ dependence on the CCP in their supply chains. This places the United States at a disadvantage vis-à-vis the CCP, and the food supply is no exception. This investigation details how the CCP turns unregulated fishing activities into an advantage and manipulates the global food supply in the process.”

Carlos Giménez, Republican congressman and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, said that the CCP’s fishing fleet is not merely a commercial force. He stated: “Communist China’s fishing fleet is not a business enterprise—it is a weapon of the Chinese Communist Party. The CCP commands the world’s largest fishing fleet as it would a military force, using it to strip other nations of resources, exploit forced labor, destroy marine ecosystems, and control global seafood supply chains.”

According to the report, the CCP currently operates the world’s largest distant-water fishing fleet, with as many as 16,000 vessels active across waters off Africa, Latin America, the South Pacific, and the Indian Ocean. The CCP uses this fleet as a state-directed tool to intimidate other countries, exhaust fishery resources, and consolidate control over seafood processing and distribution.

The report notes that the CCP is the world’s largest exporter of seafood, with annual trade totaling as much as US$18.5 billion. Meanwhile, more than 80% of the seafood consumed in the United States relies on imports, most of which move through supply chains controlled by the CCP.

In addition, the report documents widespread environmental destruction and human rights abuses associated with the CCP’s fishing fleet, including forced labor aboard fishing vessels and damage to marine ecosystems. It further alleges that CCP fishing vessels are used for intelligence gathering and, in nearby waters, operate as part of maritime militia forces under military command.

The report concludes that the CCP’s fishing activities pose a direct threat to U.S. economic security, the global food system, and the rules-based international order. It states: “These findings reveal an organized, deliberate state campaign by the CCP to achieve maritime dominance, monopolize food systems, and undermine the rules-based international order. This poses a direct threat to U.S. national security, economic sovereignty, and global stability.”

The House China Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security are calling for an expanded operational role for the U.S. Coast Guard, stronger coordination with allies, improved maritime intelligence sharing, and the development of new international requirements to identify fishing vessels and combat illegal fishing activities.
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