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China fishing fleet near Ecuador islands irks US
17 MINUTES AGO
. . .
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called reports of hundreds of Chinese vessels near Galapagos Islands "deeply troubling," following recent reports out of Ecuador about vessels from a predominantly Chinese fishing fleet.
"Reports of 300+ Chinese vessels near the Galapagos disabling tracking systems, changing ship names, and leaving marine debris are deeply troubling," Pompeo tweeted on Thursday.
He called on China "to be transparent and enforce its own zero tolerance policy on illegal fishing."
. . .
Ecuador declines to identify ships
Ecuador's armed forces said earlier this month that dozens of vessels from a predominantly Chinese fishing fleet that is operating near the Galapagos Islands have turned off tracking systems to prevent monitoring of their activities.
Of around 325 ships still fishing in the waters near the ecologically sensitive Galapagos, 149 have at some point in recent months cut off communications, Ecuador's navy commander, Rear Admiral Darwin Jarrin told reporters.
Some had also changed the vessels' names to avoid supervision, he said.
More:
https://www.trtworld.com/americas/china-fishing-fleet-near-ecuador-islands-irks-us-39264
