Critics Slam China's Fishing Bans as Ineffective Wildlife Protection Measures

China's recent fishing ban in certain ocean areas has been criticized by ocean conservation nonprofit Oceana as a PR stunt, as the country allegedly had minimal fishing activity in those zones prior to the ban. Oceana argues that the ban does little to protect squid and calls for real solutions to combat overfishing. China's distant-water fishing fleet, the largest in the world with nearly 11,000 vessels, reportedly conducted over 330,000 hours of squid fishing in the first half of 2023 despite the ban. Oceana highlights the need for increased transparency in fishing to prevent such deceptive practices.