The leading Argentine expert on the South Atlantic and Fisheries, Dr. César Lerena , states that the memorandum of understanding signed by the Governor of Santa Cruz, Claudio Vidal , with the Chinese state-owned company Fuzhou Hongdong Pelagic Fishery Co. , will allow the ports of Santa Cruz to provide logistical support to the same Chinese fleet that operates illegally in waters near the Argentine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
He considers it a threat to sovereignty and national resources . He argues that it is presented by Claudio Vidal as an economic opportunity for the province, but that it implies giving China facilities that will allow greater plundering of strategic migratory resources , such as squid. In addition, he maintains that China's presence in the Patagonian ports would strengthen its geopolitical control in the region, putting Argentine sovereignty at risk .
He warns of the environmental impact and economic loss that this would cause for the entire country , which would be added to the existing illegal fishing in the Argentine EEZ, which already represents annual losses of around 24 billion dollars . Lerena anticipates that the use of local ports by the Chinese fleet will encourage the exploitation of resources without compensation for Argentina, compromising the marine ecosystem and weakening the local fishing industry.
He warns Argentine governors with maritime coastlines that Vidal's memorandum with China violates provincial agreements . For him, this agreement, like others in Chubut and Tierra del Fuego, shows the lack of a coherent national policy and underlines the risks of provincial decisions allowing the entry of foreign fleets. And he warns them that without controls, Santa Cruz would become a "base of operations" for foreign fishing in the South Atlantic, to the detriment of national interests.
It also describes the adverse strategic consequences for the region of the geopolitical impact of the Chinese presence in the South Atlantic , a sector closely linked to Patagonia and Antarctica . This situation could compromise Argentina's position in future international negotiations on maritime resources and its territorial control in key areas.
THE FULL NOTE OF DR CESAR LERENA
CHINESE ILLEGAL FISHING. IDIOT HAS NO BORDERS
An idiot (from the Greek ἰδιώτης idiṓtēs) is a citizen who remains on the fringes of public life, a person who is neither a scholar nor involved in community affairs and interests. There are many Argentine officials who could be included in this definition. Among them, those who want to open the ports of the national maritime coast to Chinese vessels that illegally fish our fishery resources.
By the way, an initiative of this nature would undermine political, economic, environmental, food, social sovereignty and national defense, and would be unconstitutional because it would require a prior Agreement ratified by the National Congress pursuant to articles 4; 5; 21 to 23, 27 bis and 37 of Law 24,922 and article 6 of Law 24,093 on port activities, and its application would damage the environment by violating Law 25,675 by promoting facilities for those who fish illegally, affecting the marine ecosystem and the sustainability of fishing resources; which, in the case of fishing in the Malvinas, would add the violation of Res. 31/49 of the United Nations.
In our article “ China is not coming to solve the Argentine problem, it is coming for our resources ” (1/22/2023) we already referred to the fact that the Argentine Foreign Ministry and its devalued Malvinas Secretariat is dedicated to listing Argentina's historical rights over the islands without designing any other policy than that of cooperating without any compensation from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and, at the same time, the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and the Federal Fisheries Council made up of provincial representatives, happily tolerates a bunch of idiots, irresponsible and uninformed people, promoting the opening of the ports of the maritime coast to the fleets of the Chinese State that illegally fish our migratory fishing resources in exchange for colored mirrors.
Illegal fishing not only causes economic, biological, environmental and social damage, but also generates violations in terms of slave labor and drug trafficking; in addition, it undermines the sovereignty of coastal States. Therefore, all this cannot be weighed against the unfounded intention of generating some economic resources for the provinces provided by predatory fishing vessels that, in addition, will not have any significance in relation to the million tons of migratory species originating in the Argentine EEZ that are annually extracted by Chinese, Spanish, British, Koreans, Taiwanese, etc. for a FOB value of 4.320 million U$S and 1.190 million U$S. 24 billion U$S in the final market ( Mercado Central de Valencia, 11/22 ), to which are added 325,000 tons of fishing resources that are extracted annually in the Malvinas area with illegal British licenses, for a value of 1.5 billion U$S FOB which, in the final trade, are transformed into about 9 billion/year. A political and economic irresponsibility.
Political idiocy and incapacity do not differentiate between national and provincial officials, regardless of their party affiliation.
First it was Montevideo, which collaborates with illegal fishing and the British in the Malvinas; but of course, it is a port of Uruguay and the Argentine governments have done nothing to reach an agreement with that country; then the Port of Comodoro Rivadavia in Chubut and various public officials and unions interested in granting the use of the ports to Chinese vessels; also the Port of Río Grande in Tierra del Fuego and finally the intention to open all the ports of Santa Cruz to the Chinese, providing logistical assistance to the fleet that fishes illegally at a distance from the People's Republic of China; but, the idiots reproduce and come back with the refrain of the short-sightedness. Bread for today and hunger for tomorrow.
For her part, the now ex-Chancellor, with the Mondino-Lammy pact, reissued the Foradori-Duncan Pact, making it easier for the British to fish illegally in Argentine waters of the Malvinas through precise knowledge of fish stocks, consolidating their presence in the archipelagos and in the southern area of the South Atlantic and, to help the English even more, they were authorized to fly to San Pablo, contributing to the commercialization of their products in the most important market in South America and access to the world. No one could doubt that this new Pact violates the First Transitory Provision of the National Constitution.
Chinese State Enterprises have already been granted quotas and fishing permits in Argentina and operate legally in our seas. The majority of the jiggers that make up the Argentine Chamber of Jigger Owners (CAPA) with a fleet of 65 fishing vessels, “capture more than 90% of the Argentine total” (In 2022 they caught 167,110 tons of Illex squid) and are vessels of Chinese origin since, despite the name of the Chamber, it is made up of 68% of vessels from Asian companies (mostly Chinese); 18% Spanish and only 14% Argentine. There are several companies acquired totally or partially by China in Argentina and, let us remember that most of the Chinese companies are not private, but belong to the Chinese State. Among the main Argentine exporters of this origin we find the Fenix Group; Arbumasa SA of the Dalian Huafeng Acuatic Prod Co. Ltd group; Ardapez; Conarpesa, following the acquisition of a significant percentage of its share package by the Spanish company Wofco, integrated with Chinese capital; Altamare of Shanghai Jinyou Deep Sea Fisheries Co., etc. with exports of around 280 million dollars annually. China, on the other hand, is among the five main importing countries of Argentine fishery products, although, with US$ 3,700/ton (2021), it is the lowest compared to the rest of the four importing countries.
It would be necessary to verify whether Chinese vessels, when registering the Argentine flag, have also removed their flag from the corresponding Chinese registry, since otherwise - as is being discussed in port circles - they would not be paying import duties in China on products extracted from Argentina.
In addition, with more than 300 Chinese vessels (about 270 are jiggers and another 30 trawlers) illegally fishing on the high seas for migratory resources originating in the Argentine EEZ, it is the largest fleet that fishes in a subsidized manner and is accused of drug trafficking and slave labor. Other Chinese vessels are added to this fleet that fish in Argentine waters of South Georgia within the framework of the CCAMLR.
Officials do not seem to understand that squid is a strategic species in the South-West Atlantic and that its proper management would allow an end to illegal fishing on the high seas and to the livelihood of the British in the Malvinas. The Foreign Ministry is already facilitating the British in the Malvinas with cooperation agreements, but we need to facilitate operations for the Chinese by opening Argentine ports to them. There is no end to idiocy .
Since 1976, the British have extracted, through licenses granted to foreign vessels from Spanish-British, Korean, Taiwanese and, until 2007, Chinese companies, an average of 250 thousand tons (not including discards) of Argentine fishing products; in addition to arrogantly occupying 1,639,900 km2 of maritime and island territory and disputing 1,430,367 km2 of continental shelf and 2,426,911 km2 of Argentine Antarctica and its corresponding waters with Argentina, and have begun oil explorations north of the Malvinas estimated to be in the order of 791 million barrels of crude oil. Should Argentina unilaterally cooperate with the British usurper and appropriator? The United Kingdom has no intention of returning to Argentina a strategic space for access to Antarctica and control of the South Atlantic, the Pacific, the Indian Ocean and directly linked to Patagonia.
Former Foreign Minister Mondino's idiocy has no end.
Giving the ports to China adds a profound lack of knowledge of the operations carried out by the ships of this nationality that fish from a distance. A well-known businessman in the fishing sector - perhaps the most lucid and knowledgeable of the fishing business - says in this regard: "It is frightening the lack of knowledge that the Argentine authorities have, not only the provincial ones, about the fishing problems and in particular about the problems in the area adjacent to the 200 miles, including Malvinas. They imagine that the foreign fleet can generate income for their provinces through the sale of services to these ships. In the case of Santa Cruz, it is encouraged, first of all, because the stevedoring union in that Province dreams that their activities would increase, although the decrease in activities in Puerto Deseado is due in large part to the fact that while in that port unloading a ship costs approximately $150 per ton, in the port of Vigo it costs $20; Secondly, supermarkets are thinking of selling provisions to these ships, and thirdly, some service stations are imagining selling them diesel. But none of these three things are going to happen. The Chinese fleet operating on the high seas transfers its cargoes with its own crew. The cost of this task is included in the monthly salary of the crew, but even if we were to assign a value to it, it would not exceed $10 per ton. Since the time of the Framework Agreements with the USSR and Bulgaria, as well as during the squid charter operations, there has always been a resounding refusal to use local stowage, due to the exposed costs. Regarding the purchase of provisions of fresh products, such as some vegetables or fruit, they probably buy leeks and green onions, the rest is rice and spices that they bring from their countries. Diesel is taken on the high seas at a price subsidized by the Chinese government. Chinese workers do not have passports and will not be able to go ashore for fear of desertions. In short, this “great idea” will be limited to giving them support to improve the efficiency of the Chinese vessels by transferring in a safe port or carrying out some repairs that make them lose a lot of time due to the very hard conditions of the high seas and, in addition, on the trips to and from the ports they will have to capture in the Argentine EEZ and obtain valuable information on the situation of the resource by using sonars during their transfer, a matter that costs a fortune, in terms of evaluating the length of the campaign and estimating the quantities of the recruitment. All this in exchange for NOTHING.” And it is truly so. It is unheard of to open the ports to the Chinese under the pretext of generating business. They do not sail thousands of miles for this, but to take our resources at the lowest possible cost, as is logical in any company and, even more so, when these must be accountable to the Chinese State. With the illegal fishing that the Chinese take, we could multiply Argentine employment by 100% and develop the Patagonian coast. There is no reason to ask the Chinese for a hand - which will not be free - to solve Argentina's problems, and even less to try to eliminate illegal fishing by giving them ports or providing logistical facilities; on the contrary, it would be definitively closing all doors to future agreements on the high seas, contrary to the most basic negotiating process.
We have already mentioned ( “Spain. Necessary participant in the occupation of Malvinas”, 11/2/23 ) that the illex squid consumed by the European Union comes from America (46.7%) and Asia (47.8%) where the Chinese, Taiwanese and Koreans illegally fish our migratory resources. It would be good to know who certifies the origin and traceability of these products for their entry into Europe. According to official figures from the FAO and the Chinese government, the catch of illex squid in 2021 in the Southwestern Atlantic reached 580,000 tonnes, of which 170,000 tonnes correspond to catches in Argentine waters of the Malvinas and 132,000 tonnes from Argentine jiggers and trawlers. Meanwhile, 214 Chinese vessels operating in the Southwest Atlantic and Eastern Pacific landed at the distant-water port of Zhoushan in the first half of 2021, a 61% increase over 2020.
In this scenario, who would be irresponsible in authorizing the use of ports by Chinese vessels that engage in illegal fishing in the South Atlantic? It is impossible to imagine Chinese vessels entering national ports if Argentina does not have the capacity to control the Argentine sea and its ports without first agreeing with China on the administration (research, conservation and equitable distribution) on the high seas of migratory resources originating in the EEZ, those associated with it and those that migrate from the high seas to the EEZ, and this implies, initially and every year, determining the “Maximum Sustainable Catch”.
Can a simple Port Administrator establish the policy for the administration of Argentine migratory resources in the South Atlantic? Absolutely NOT. Maritime, river, naval and fishing issues cannot be in the hands of a mere port administrator. These are part of a complex network that should be dealt with in an integrated, phased and clockwork manner, since Argentina has the equivalent of 52% of its EEZ and the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich archipelagos occupied: in addition, as has been said, to violating all current Argentine regulations.
A year later, the Minister of Production of Tierra del Fuego, Sonia Elizabeth Castigilone, would promote the opening to Chinese who illegally fish Argentine resources of the Port to be built in Río Grande by Mirgor SA (RevistaPuerto 11/24/22) with Chinese capital and/or the Chinese state-owned Shaanxi Chemical Group (Memorandum of understanding signed on 8/16/22). All this with the evident support of Governor Gustavo Melella, who would have a very good relationship with the Chinese government. These officials ignored the validity of Laws 24,922, 26,386 and 27,564 and articles 2; 25; 31 inc. 4; 49; 53 inc. 5; 54; 58 inc. 7 and 11; 63; 68th, 79th, 81st, 87th, 139th and 188th of the Constitution of Tierra del Fuego; Provincial Fishing Law 244 (8/17/1995) articles 6, 12 to 18 and 41 to 50 and those derived from smuggling due to non-payment of customs duties (Law 22,415) (César Lerena “Tierra del Fuego Minister would facilitate illegal fishing…” 11/24/2022) .
Finally, the Governor of Santa Cruz, Claudio Vidal, would have signed, “after several visits to different provinces of China” (Maritime Report, 1/11/24), a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese state-owned company Fuzhou Hongdong Pelagic Fischery Co., in whose ports of Santa Cruz logistics would be provided to the Chinese ships that illegally fish Argentine migratory fishing resources (which his Minister Gustavo Martínez seems to ignore when he says that “these people are part of the rules of the game of the world market”) , “installing a shipyard; improving the five ports and the development of fishing plants to add value” (saying that the Chinese would add value in Argentina is not serious). From the free entry of China, a base of operations of this country in the Southwestern Atlantic would have serious geopolitical implications in relation to Patagonia, Antarctica and the bioceanic passages and the installation of new strange tensions in the South Atlantic. This madness could be supported by the fact that the Province of Santa Cruz is asking the Federal Fisheries Council to allocate 30 thousand more tons of social quota for hake.
These three projects from three Patagonian provinces call upon those who have illegally taken the whopping sum of 152 billion dollars in migratory fishery products originating in the Argentine EEZ since 1982 to date, which could have been used to expand, renovate and modernize all the country's ports. They are a colonizing model that takes us back to the 18th/19th century and reveals the lack of national strategic planning and the inability of officials to administer the State and strengthen the national business and labor force.
It would also be essential for the National State to be vigilant to ensure that there are no returns in this type of agreement that violates all current legislation.
Idiocy is an inability to manage the nation's resources and inability is revealed by putting people at the maximum potential of their abilities and, in many cases, this threshold is very low.
Dr. Cesar Augusto Lerena
South Atlantic and Fisheries Expert – Former Secretary of State
President of the Center for Latin American Fisheries Studies (CESPEL)
Author of “The plundering of migratory fishing resources in South America and the Caribbean” (2022).
November 2, 2023
