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Nearly 200 Chinese fishing vessels return to Ogasawaras

24 Comments

Nearly 200 Chinese fishing vessels on Friday returned to waters in the Ogasawara island chain where they are suspected of illegally poaching red coral.

The Japan Coast Guard said that 191 Chinese boats were seen returning toward the Ogasawaras after they had left the area earlier in the week to avoid an approaching typhoon, TBS reported Saturday.

Ogasawara authorities have urged the Japan Coast Guard and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport to strengthen monitoring and patrolling of the seas.

A local Ogasawara official said that the presence of so many boats could harm the local tourism and whale watching industries that provide much of the region's annual income.

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24 Comments
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Impound the ships and charge the captains and crew.

I'm pretty certain that would be the response if roles were reversed.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Hopefully Abe-san will have enough guts to tell Mr. Xi when they meet in Beijing next week that enough is enough ... China should stop stealing Japan's coral. He should insist that if those boats don't leave Japan's coral waters they will end up in a junkyard somewhere and their crewmen will be returned to China in a garbage boat.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Give them one warning over the radio and if they don't comply immediately, fire on them. The JCG doesn't have enough vessels to police this many illegal incursions at once and the Chinese poachers are counting on this very fact. This is a blatant and unforgivable violation of Japan's EEZ and/or sovereign territory and no reaction from the GOJ can be considered too harsh.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

I say give those ship warning.. then shoot a warning.. if they still being stubborn sink the hell out of those ship..

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Can´t we unleash Sea Shepard on these coral plunderers?

6 ( +6 / -0 )

That's when the Japan Coast Guard and Navy , does a live fire exercise over their heads.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

I just went to Taiwan. I thought how strange it was that red corral and red corral jewelry were so poplar and so openly sold and touted as a popular Taiwanese jewelry. Of course there were signs that say "buy now! it is illegal to gather any more red corral so the prices will go up and up". I knew in the back of my head that was a lie. Stories like this prove that new batches of red corral are still very much being obtained.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Why is there any hesitation at all on this???

Board and seize any non-Japanese registered vessel going anywhere near the reefs. Give the crew a complementary ride home on a cargo ship, and keep their vessel impounded in Japan.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Take action if it's illegal instead of useless talking! good thing is China didn't say collecting red coral is tradition of our fishermen and they've been doing the same for a thousand years....

2 ( +2 / -0 )

TamaramaNov. 08, 2014 - 05:53PM JST Impound the ships and charge the captains and crew. I'm pretty certain that would be the response if roles were reversed.

China's laws require a sentence of 3 to 10 years. I'd say that Japan should apply that standard.

... unless this is a cunning plot to smuggle millions of Chinese people into Japanese prisons?

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Impound all of the intruding ships and jail the poaching invaders. Then, destroy all the boats.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

And the Ogasawaras are now on the World Heritage List so surely they are eligible for protection by Japan and other civilized countries.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I find it infuriating that the Japanese coast guard seems to to nothing about it. Even if they don´t enough ships and personnel to deal with the whole armada, whiy simply take one ship at a time? And if the jail in Ogasawa is not big enough, put them up in a camp ground. It is not like they are going to swim away.

And then keep the ship until a reasonable fine is paid, not some meaningless promise to pay, which never happens.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Tie them together in a long chain and use a large vessel to tow them back to Chinese waters, with the warning that their next incursion will win them treatment as residents of the Ogasawara islands, in the same manner the islands were used in the Edo period -- as a penal colony.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Complacent =Japan. Shame!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

WilliB, Yes! Where IS SeaShepherd?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

An obvious attempt by the Chinese government to check out Japan's coast guard capabilities. Better Ogasawaras than Okinawa where the U.S. military has presence.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

It is truly unfortunate that Japan can't or won't protect the waters of Ogasawara islands. What happened to the assurances of the Japanese PM to President Johnson in 1967 that the Bonin Islanders will be looked after upon return of the islands to Japanese control? I am sure it also means taking care of the surrounding waters and resources. I hope the Russians are taking a good hard look at what is happening to the Ogasawara islands. Just think what would happen if Russia gave the Northern Territories back to Japan and the Chinese fishing fleet shows up. The Japanese coast guard will "monitor" until all the fish stock is gone. Just like the "monitoring" of the Bonin waters until the red corals are stripped clean. Thank you Mr. Abe for nothing.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Joseph that would give the Peoples Navy legal justification to attack the Japanese Coast Guard and the Self Defense Force. Can see pictures of the Japanese Coast Guard attacking unarmed fishing boats, wrecked fishing boats and dead fishermen floating in the water.

The Japanese Coast Guard needs to come up with an effective set of countermeasures that will not lead to dead fishermen and an armed response from the Peoples Republic of China.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

WillieB,

I agree!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It is understood that Chinese use fishing boats that use a trawl net or dragnet to catch. The net extends to 1 kilometer length. They catch not only coral but also tuna, squid and mackerel etc. Japan and other parts of the world prohibit the use of this fishing method. In order for them to harvest a great amount of fish they use fish collecting lamp and catch in one fell swoop by pumping them in. Apart from illegal fishing and pirate fishing, one big global problem is the world faces crisis of losing young fish, a very important resource. So they even don’t care about natural resource management. It is reported that in some other part of the world like Korean Sea and Africa, they normally observe a group of more than 280 fishing boats.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Tak Alfred OishiNov. 09, 2014 - It is understood that Chinese use fishing boats that use a trawl net or dragnet to catch. The net extends to 1 kilometer length.

I hate people to illegally do fishing, however I think we should provide correct information! Pls check the photo of those 210 ships on newspaper, actually those small ships can't handle the equipment( pelagic drift-net ) as you mentioned. Furthermore, that ugly fishing equipment is forbitted in whole east asia, including China, except couple south east countries.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

This is a test of Japans defenses, soon it will be used to land troops on the Senkaku Islands. Then the Chinese fleet will prevent their removal. My bet is the USA will not honor its treaty and spineless Abe will back off. After Syria and Ukraine who would believe President Obama's hollow threats? As for Abe, he is like a small dog all bark and no bite. Specializes in shrine visits and pandering to Japan's "right wing".

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Its time to take the Chinese off their boats then sink their ships in deep water and bring them close to shore and tell them to swim home, you do that to a few and you will never see anymore in the area, if they are in Violation of the Law they have a right to confiscate or destroy any vehicle used for the transportation of illegal activity, whether it be drugs or fish or coral, why is Japan putting up with these poachers?

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

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