Explore how technological advancements onboard Chinese fishing vessels improve safety at sea and influence marine ecosystems, with insights from recent studies.
Technological Innovations in China’s Fishing Vessels: Balancing Safety Gains with Ecological Costs
China’s fishing industry, one of the world’s largest, has seen significant technological advancements since 2018, affecting both navigational safety and environmental sustainability. This paper explores how these innovations, such as satellite navigation and monitoring systems, enhance safety at sea while also examining their environmental implications, including potential contributions to overfishing and ecosystem pressure.
Navigational Safety Improvements
New technologies, particularly the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) and Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS), have improved navigational safety. BDS provides precise location data, reducing collision risks in crowded fishing areas, while VMS, using edge computing, enables real-time anomaly detection, ensuring timely responses to hazards. These advancements are crucial for China’s vast fleet, especially in adverse conditions like fog, where advanced navigation aids are vital.
Environmental Impacts
While these technologies enhance safety, they also facilitate extended fishing operations, potentially exacerbating overfishing. For instance, carrier vessels with refrigerated storage, enabled by advanced communication systems, allow continuous fishing without port returns, increasing pressure on marine ecosystems. However, green technologies, such as electric and liquefied natural gas-powered vessels, aim to reduce emissions, offering a counterbalance. Regional plans, like Shandong’s development of eco-friendly deep-sea fishery equipment, support sustainability, but the rapid expansion of aquaculture, driven by digital tools, raises concerns about water quality and habitat disruption.
Conclusion
The impact of new technologies on Chinese fishing vessels is dual-edged, improving safety through precise navigation and monitoring while posing environmental risks through intensified fishing practices. Balancing these effects requires robust policies to ensure technology supports both safety and ecological health.
Survey Note: Detailed Analysis of Technological Impacts on Chinese Fishing Vessels
China’s fishing industry, comprising one of the largest fleets globally, has undergone significant technological transformation since 2018, influencing navigational safety and environmental sustainability. This section provides a comprehensive analysis, drawing on recent academic and organizational reports, to explore these impacts in depth.
Background on China’s Fishing Industry
China’s fishing fleet, estimated at up to 564,000 vessels by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2023, plays a critical role in global seafood production, contributing nearly 40% in 2022. The industry’s expansion, particularly in distant-water fisheries (DWF), has been supported by technological advancements, but it also faces challenges in ensuring safety and minimizing environmental harm. The 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) emphasizes sustainable development, highlighting the need for technology to balance economic growth with ecological health.
Technological Advancements and Navigational Safety
Recent innovations have significantly enhanced navigational safety for Chinese fishing vessels. The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), China’s indigenous satellite navigation system, offers precise location data, reducing collision risks in crowded fishing areas. A 2025 study in the Journal of Navigation discusses foggy navigation technology, including its application to commercial fishing boats in China, underscoring BDS’s role in adverse conditions (Review of ship navigation safety in fog). Similarly, Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) have become integral, with a 2021 paper in Mobile Information Systems detailing real-time anomaly detection models based on edge computing, improving safety by ensuring timely responses to navigational hazards (Research on Real-Time Anomaly Detection of Fishing Vessels in a Marine Edge Computing Environment). These systems, leveraging technologies like GPS and radar, are crucial for monitoring vessel positions, especially for larger vessels required to carry Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) under government regulations, as noted by the FAO (Technologies | Fishing Safety | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).
The adoption of BDS, with its independent intellectual property rights, has been particularly notable, starting its rapid development in China and enhancing safety through precise navigation, as mentioned in a 2024 ScienceDirect paper on VMS applications (An example of fishery yield predictions from VMS-based navigational characteristics applied to double trawlers in China). This is especially important given the complexity of China’s coastal and offshore waters, where fishing vessels often operate in high-traffic areas, increasing collision risks.
Environmental Implications
While these technologies improve safety, they also have significant environmental implications, often intensifying unsustainable fishing practices. BDS and VMS enable extended operations, allowing vessels to fish further offshore and for longer durations. A 2023 European Parliament report highlights concerns about China’s DWF, noting that technologies like carrier vessels with refrigerated storage, enabled by advanced communication systems (e.g., satellite telephones), allow continuous fishing without returning to port, exacerbating overfishing in regions like West Africa and South America (REPORT on the implications of Chinese fishing operations on EU fisheries and the way forward | A9-0282/2023 | European Parliament). The New York Times in 2022 reported on the Hai Feng 718, a carrier vessel meeting smaller fishing ships at sea for transshipment, enabling prolonged fishing activities and contributing to depleted fish stocks (China’s Fishing Operations Raise Alarms Worldwide).
Moreover, a 2024 Dialogue Earth article noted China’s target to limit DWF catch to 2.3 million tonnes by 2025, reflecting efforts to curb expansion, but the reliance on technology for efficiency continues to pressure marine ecosystems (China’s changing fisheries, in numbers). The rapid growth of aquaculture, driven by digital tools, adds complexity, with China’s aquacultural output surpassing capture fisheries in 2022, up 4.4% from 2020, according to the FAO’s 2024 report (FAO Report: Global fisheries and aquaculture production reaches a new record high). This expansion, while meeting global demand, raises concerns about water quality and habitat disruption, particularly in coastal regions.
Positive Environmental Contributions
Despite these challenges, some technologies offer environmental benefits. Green innovations, such as electric and liquefied natural gas-powered vessels, aim to reduce emissions. A 2022 Frontiers article on China’s marine engineering equipment industry highlighted regional plans, like Shandong’s development of deep-sea fishery equipment, including the Genghai No. 1 platform, with a focus on eco-friendly designs (China’s policy for the marine engineering equipment industry and potential challenges). These efforts align with the State Council’s Carbon Peak Action Plan by 2030, promoting shore power use at ports and dual-fuel engines to lower carbon footprints (State Council’s Carbon Peak Action Plan by 2030). However, the scale of adoption remains limited compared to the fleet’s size, and their impact on mitigating environmental harm is still under evaluation.
Regional and Policy Context
Regionally, provinces like Shandong and Fujian are at the forefront, with Shandong holding a 78% market share for deep-water semisubmersible drilling platforms in 2022, extending to fishery equipment development (Shandong 14th five-year plan for shipbuilding and MEE industries). Guangxi focuses on marine fishing equipment and intelligent cages for deep-sea aquaculture, while Hubei supports deep-sea fisheries, as outlined in their respective 2021 plans (Guangxi Provincial People’s Government, 2021d, Hubei Provincial People’s Government, 2021a). These initiatives reflect a push for technological integration, but challenges like unclear legal regimes and insufficient responses to overfishing, as noted in the 2023 Marine Environmental Protection Law revision, highlight ongoing tensions (Recent developments in building sustainable marine fisheries in China).
Comparative Analysis of Impacts
To summarize, the impacts can be categorized as follows:
| Aspect | Positive Impacts | Negative Impacts |
|---|---|---|
| Navigational Safety | Enhanced precision with BDS, real-time monitoring via VMS, reduced collision risks | Potential over-reliance on technology may reduce crew skills, increasing risks in failures |
| Environmental Sustainability | Green technologies (electric ships, LNG) reduce emissions, eco-friendly designs in regional plans | Extended operations via BDS/VMS intensify overfishing, aquaculture expansion disrupts habitats |
This table illustrates the dual-edged nature of technological adoption, with clear benefits for safety but significant environmental trade-offs.
Conclusion and Future Directions
The impact of new technologies on Chinese fishing vessels is complex, improving navigational safety through precise navigation and monitoring while posing environmental risks through intensified fishing practices. The evidence leans toward a need for balanced policy measures, such as stricter VMS regulations and incentives for green technology adoption, to ensure technology supports both safety and ecological health. Future research should focus on quantifying these impacts, particularly the long-term effects of aquaculture expansion and the scalability of green innovations.
Key Citations
- Review of ship navigation safety in fog, Journal of Navigation article on foggy navigation technology
- Research on Real-Time Anomaly Detection of Fishing Vessels in a Marine Edge Computing Environment, Mobile Information Systems paper on VMS and edge computing
- REPORT on the implications of Chinese fishing operations on EU fisheries and the way forward, European Parliament report on DWF impacts
- China’s Fishing Operations Raise Alarms Worldwide, New York Times article on carrier vessels
- FAO Report: Global fisheries and aquaculture production reaches a new record high, FAO 2024 report on production
- China’s policy for the marine engineering equipment industry and potential challenges, Frontiers article on green technologies
- Shandong 14th five-year plan for shipbuilding and MEE industries, Shandong government plan on fishery equipment
- Guangxi Provincial People’s Government, 2021d, Guangxi plan on fishing equipment
- Hubei Provincial People’s Government, 2021a, Hubei plan on deep-sea fisheries
- Recent developments in building sustainable marine fisheries in China, ScienceDirect article on 2023 law revision
- An example of fishery yield predictions from VMS-based navigational characteristics applied to double trawlers in China, ScienceDirect paper on VMS in China
- Technologies | Fishing Safety | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO overview on fishing technologies
- China’s changing fisheries, in numbers, Dialogue Earth article on aquaculture growth
- State Council’s Carbon Peak Action Plan by 2030, Chinese government plan on emissions
References
- Chen, J., Zhang, W. and Li, S. (2021) ‘Research on real-time anomaly detection of fishing vessels in a marine edge computing environment’, Mobile Information Systems, 2021, pp. 1–12. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/2021/5598988 (Accessed: 4 April 2025).
- This peer-reviewed article from Mobile Information Systems details VMS and edge computing applications for real-time anomaly detection, directly supporting the paper’s discussion on navigational safety improvements.
- European Parliament (2023) Report on the implications of Chinese fishing operations on EU fisheries and the way forward (A9-0282/2023). Brussels: European Parliament. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2023-0282_EN.html (Accessed: 4 April 2025).
- A 2023 report from the European Parliament, this source addresses the environmental implications of China’s distant-water fishing, including the role of technology in overfishing, aligning with the paper’s environmental focus.
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2024) FAO report: Global fisheries and aquaculture production reaches a new record high. Rome: FAO. Available at: https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/fao-report-global-fisheries-and-aquaculture-production-reaches-a-new-record-high/en (Accessed: 4 April 2025).
- This FAO report provides current statistics on China’s fishing and aquaculture output, underpinning the paper’s analysis of industry scale and environmental pressures.
- Wang, Y., Liu, Y. and Zhang, X. (2025) ‘Review of ship navigation safety in fog: Applications to commercial fishing boats in China’, Journal of Navigation, 78(2), pp. 245–260. Available at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-navigation/article/review-of-ship-navigation-safety-in-fog/E3B6A470902977D4D30B0B024D0A42A4 (Accessed: 4 April 2025).
- A 2025 study from the Journal of Navigation, this source explores foggy navigation technology, including BeiDou’s role, directly relevant to the paper’s safety enhancements section.
