The contradiction between rhetoric and reality is starkly apparent in the Argentine sea . While Javier Milei 's government overplays its hand against illegal fishing and announces supposed control measures on the high seas to stop foreign vessels, an uncomfortable reality unfolds in parallel.

Dozens of ships depart from Argentine ports without the observer on board required by law, and they do so under the protection of a corporate structure that allows Chinese companies with a history of marine depredation to operate under the national flag.

Three reports from the National Institute for Fisheries Research and Development (INIDEP), accessed by the Mongabay Latam portal, demonstrate that the situation is neither new nor exceptional.

In 2025, only 7 out of 78 vessels had observers on board, covering just 9 of the 354 voyages . The previous year, 12 out of 74 vessels had this key figure for sustainability, monitoring just 19 of 302 voyages. Between 2021 and 2024, 62 vessels did not carry an observer on board even once, according to the same organization .

The role of the observer is not merely an administrative formality. In the words of INIDEP researcher Nicolás Prandoni , it is "a fundamental role for raising the alarm in the event of overfishing," since they are the ones who record what happens on the high seas and guarantee the sustainability of marine resources. Their systematic absence in a fleet where 68% of the Argentine Squid Fishing Vessel Owners' Association is comprised of Asian capital —primarily Chinese—raises serious concerns.

The testimonies gathered from maritime workers paint a picture of impunity and abuse that goes far beyond mere environmental concerns. "We all know that they set sail with an Argentine captain in command, but once they reach the fishing grounds, the Chinese captain is the one who takes real power. The Argentine, in reality, is just there for a pleasure cruise," denounces Rodolfo Ramírez , a sailor with more than two decades of experience in squid fishing.

An Argentine captain nearing retirement, who asked to remain anonymous "for fear of reprisals," confirms that among the ships bought by the Chinese , "it is common to lend captains' titles so that colleagues of other nationalities can sail without being stopped by the law," an illegal practice that leaves the Argentine captain as the only one responsible before the law while the real authority falls into foreign hands.

The concern takes on new dimensions when the origin of the capital is traced. Companies like Shanghai Jinyou Deep Sea Fisheries Co. Ltd., a Chinese state-owned company belonging to the food giant Bright Food Group, bought the Argentine firm Altamare SA in 2014. Its vessels Hu Shun Yu 06, 07, and 08, now owned by Argamar with Argentine fishing permits, were identified in 2016 carrying out illegal operations in Argentine waters, and one of them disembarked a crew member who died in Montevideo in 2022.

Shandong Bodelong Co. Ltd, whose subsidiary was pursued by the Argentine Coast Guard in 2020 after turning off its lights and fleeing while illegally fishing in territorial waters, now operates legally through Patagonia Fishing SA. China National Fisheries Corporation, identified as responsible for a third of global fishing violations, now fishes in Argentina through its subsidiaries.

"It is clear that the basic principles are not being applied in the analysis of admission to the national flag, since it is unreasonable to incorporate a Chinese-flagged vessel with a history of illegal fishing simply because it buys a legally authorized Argentine company ," says Gonzalo Vergez, coordinator of the Argentine Association of Environmental Lawyers.

According to César Lerena , former Secretary of State and president of the Center for Latin American Fisheries Studies, "what is being allowed is an enormous concentration to the detriment of small and medium-sized national companies" and a de facto renunciation of sovereignty over migratory resources.

The case of Zhejiang Ocean Family, a Chinese company cited by the Environmental Justice Foundation for human rights violations including beatings, threats, and the deaths of at least four crew members between 2017 and 2023, is paradigmatic. Through Argentine companies such as Fenix Internacional, Pesquera 20 de Noviembre, Muelle Ocho, and Moderno, it operates in Argentine fishing waters . It was on a Fenix Internacional vessel that 67-year-old Argentine sailor Manuel Quiquinte died of Covid-19 in 2021 after more than a week of agony at sea, his pleas for help ignored by his superiors. The company didn't even inform his family. None of this company's vessels had observers on board in 2024 or 2025.

The Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture, the agency responsible for overseeing the presence of observers and monitoring compliance with regulations, did not respond to Mongabay 's inquiries. Neither did the Federal Fisheries Council nor the companies involved.

The institutional silence is deafening in the face of a situation where, as described by a sailor who also requested anonymity, "the people who decide what to eat, how much to rest, how production is organized and when to return to port, are the Chinese captains," while Argentine law is only superficially enforced and marine resources are plundered without control.

Source: Mongabay