Report says Chinese firms control nearly two-thirds of the squid fleet in Argentina's waters

Sunday, June 21st 2026 - 21:25 UTC

The vessels operate under the Argentine flag and Argentine rules, but their controlling capital is Chinese.

Companies of Chinese origin own 63.1% of the jigger fleet that, under the Argentine flag, fishes squid inside Argentina's Exclusive Economic Zone, according to a report by illegal-fishing and marine-conservation researcher Milko Schvartzman, published by the outlet Infobae. The study states that 53 of the 84 jigger vessels that catch the species under the national flag have Chinese companies as owners or “beneficial owners,” based on satellite observations from Global Fishing Watch and the translation of official Chinese documents.

More than half of that fleet, according to the report, is controlled by five Chinese fishing corporations, among them the state-owned China National Fisheries Corporation. The vessels operate under the Argentine flag and Argentine rules, but their controlling capital is Chinese.

The report holds that those companies enjoy hidden subsidies from Beijing. Under Chinese regulations, products caught by Chinese firms in foreign waters are considered “national products” and are exempt from import duties and value-added tax when entering China, the world's main squid market. Adding the import tariff (12%) and VAT (9%), Schvartzman calculates a 21% advantage over local competitors, which the report estimates at some $45 million a year in additional benefit.