Page 47 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 25
P. 47
Food health
indicates that China is not the fish harvested by Chaoliang of the BRI, is the development
really interested in reversing will be shipped back to China of a massive deep-sea port in
its course. Instead, it is moving and processed and stored in the fishing village of Gwadar
ahead with BRI projects the facilities the company in Balochistan that will connect
that increase the presence of intends to build in Shanghai, by rail and road to China’s
Chinese vessels in the waters Guangzhou, and Changsha. Xinjiang region. The project,
of coastal countries where which gives control of the port
marine resources are already Somalia has the longest to Chinese companies, has also
contested. coastline of any African nation. brought an influx of Chinese
But the local small-scale fishing trawlers to the area.
Under current BRI projects, fishing communities that live One of the Chinese companies
Chinese fishing companies along the coast are already now fishing the waters off of
are encouraged to leverage suffering from overfishing the Gwadar coast is Fujian
BRI investments in harbour by foreign vessels, including Hengli Fishery, which is known
infrastructure to gain more many Chinese-owned vessels. for its illegal, unregulated
fishing access in foreign Chinese fishing companies and unreported fishing in
countries at the expense of started moving into Somali West Africa, with evidence
local fishing communities waters in a big way after of various infringements
and the sustainability of December 2018, when the including illegal nets, shark
local marine resources.[14] Somali government issued finning and fishing without
In Somalia, for instance, renewable annual fishing licences.[18]
China Beijing Chaoliang licenses to 31 vessels that are
Holdings Group and the part of the China Overseas The presence of Fujian Hengli
Somali government signed the Fisheries Association. and other Chinese fishing
China-Somalia International Although the licenses only companies is already having
Fisheries Cooperation deal allowed Chinese vessels to major impacts on local fishing
in November 2022, as part of operate 24 nautical miles away communities, who say the
the BRI framework. Under from Somalia’s coast, the local giant vessels are wiping out
the agreement, the Chaoliang fishing communities say that their fish stocks, out-competing
Group committed to a one- their government is not able to their local fishing boats and
year investment in Somalia’s stop vessels from encroaching destroying their livelihoods.
fish processing facilities and this boundary. [17] The new [19] In December 2022, the
tuna production, and in return, deal with Chaoliang Group Haq Do Tehreek (Gwadar
it received fishing licences under the BRI framework will Rights Movement) led a two-
for operation along the coast only worsen the situation. month protest to demand an
of Somalia and access to end to deep-sea fish trawling
coastal waters for a deep-sea In Pakistan, a major project of by Chinese vessels and,
aquaculture project that it also the China-Pakistan Economic together with thousands of
intends to develop.[15] [16]All Corridor (CPEC), which is part people from local small fishing
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