MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Sunday, June 7th 2026 - 07:56 UTC
The foundation warned that, if the current level of exploitation continues, resources that are strategic for the economy could be compromised
Foreign fleets operating along the outer edge of Argentina's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) —the so-called Mile 201— extract up to four times the volume caught by the entire national fishing industry, according to a report by the Latin American Foundation for Fisheries Sustainability (FULASP) released on the International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. The organization called the activity one of the main threats to the fishery resources of the South-West Atlantic.
According to the report, each year between 400 and 600 vessels, coming mainly from China, South Korea and Taiwan, gather alongside Argentina's EEZ to catch migratory species linked to the local ecosystem. While Argentine fishing lands between 750,000 and 900,000 tonnes a year, captures in the South-West Atlantic range from 1.5 to 3 million tonnes, so that the international fleets may extract between two and four times the national volume, depending on the species and season. Between 2019 and 2024, extraction in the area grew 65%, and the Chinese fleet's fishing effort rose 85%.
