The absence of effective regulations in the high seas directly affects countries such as Chile, Ecuador, and Peru

CALAMASUR: The Dauntless Efforts to Save the Giant Squid from China’s Unlimited Fishing

PERU
Saturday, January 17, 2026, 18:00 (GMT + 9)

The South Pacific is preparing for a key debate that could mark the beginning of precautionary and sustainable management of the giant squid in international waters.

The giant squid (dosidicus gigas), also known as pota or jibia, is a fundamental resource for food security and the economy of coastal communities in the South Pacific. However, it currently faces a critical threat: in the international waters of the South Pacific, the voracious Chinese fleet, made up of more than 600 large industrial fishing vessels, extracts this resource without catch limits.

The absence of effective regulations in the high seas directly affects countries such as Chile, Ecuador, and Peru, where tens of thousands of artisanal fishers depend on this species.

Unlike what happens in international waters, these States have made progress in regulating the activity within their own waters, strengthening control and surveillance of their fleets and incorporating measures such as catch quotas and closed seasons.

However, in the international waters of the South Pacific the situation is quite different. This fishery is managed through the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO), a multilateral organization based in New Zealand that brings together the main countries with fishing interests in the region, including China, the United States, the European Union, and Latin American coastal countries.

Despite the fact that this resource is among the 15 most harvested in the world, the SPRFMO has systematically allowed China, the only nation participating in this fishery in international waters, to do so without catch limits. Uncontrolled extraction on the high seas contrasts with the efforts of coastal countries and reignites warnings about the future of the resource.

Pascual Aguilera, Chilean delegate of the Committee for the Sustainable Management of the Giant Squid of the South Pacific (CALAMASUR) and spokesperson for the National Jibieros Coordination, highlights that both Chile and Peru have made significant progress in the internal management of their artisanal giant squid fisheries, particularly by adopting management based on annual catch quotas.

“It is unheard of that the SPRFMO allows Chinese vessels to fish without limits, knowing that resources are not infinite. When they are depleted, those most affected will be artisanal fishers. Today we see how, in the absence of resources, our vessels must suspend operations, while the Chinese fleet operates without restrictions 365 days a year,” he warned.

Asked about how to address the lack of regulation of giant squid fishing in international waters, Alfonso Miranda, president of CALAMASUR, an independent organization made up of producers and processors from coastal countries, noted that the upcoming meeting of SPRFMO member States will be a key moment.

“In March, Panama will host a new session of the SPRFMO. Unfortunately, only two of the four producing countries have submitted formal proposals to address the problem: Peru and Ecuador. Despite this, up to nine proposals will be discussed in Panama aimed at restoring order in one of the most productive areas of the world, where for many years giant squid fishing has been allowed blindly,” he said.

Welcome to the Chilean sea

China, responsible for virtually all giant squid catches in the international waters of the South Pacific, has not submitted any proposal to improve the management of giant squid in that area and appears to prefer that the fishery remain unregulated.

This behavior has been maintained throughout the 13 years of existence of the SPRFMO, a period during which the Asian country has captured nearly 5 million tons of this resource off the South American coast.

Chile, the country recently consolidated as China’s strategic partner by controversially opening its ports to nearly 200 Chinese vessels that had previously been denied entry to Peru for refusing to accept that country’s monitoring, has also chosen not to submit initiatives, ignoring the demands of its artisanal fishers.

Photo: Calamasur

Successful Peruvian and Ecuadorian proposals

In contrast, together Ecuador and Peru have put forward five important proposals to organize what happens in international waters. These include the establishment of a protection or buffer zone adjacent to the exclusive economic zones of coastal countries, in order to reduce the risk of illegal fishing incursions.

They have also proposed a measure to encourage the continued inclusion of artisanal fleets in the SPRFMO. Ecuador, moreover, has emphasized the need to restore the precautionary approach at the center of fisheries management—in line with principles established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)—by proposing the setting of catch limits for distant-water fleets operating on the high seas.

Complementarily, Peru and Ecuador have promoted proposals to strengthen the regulation of transshipments at sea, while New Zealand has presented additional initiatives regarding labor standards.

Photo: China Squid Index (Zhoushan)

Finally, the United States and the European Union have submitted a proposal to reduce the number of vessels operating on the high seas targeting giant squid and to strengthen port inspections to prevent illegal fishing, respectively.

In this regard, the head of CALAMASUR issued a call to SPRFMO members and to global public opinion to support the initiatives that today seek to close existing gaps in the governance of giant squid fishing on the high seas.

He argued that to ensure the sustainability of the resource, progress must be made toward a fishery with clear rules, greater control, and management based on the precautionary approach.

Photo: Calamasur

“Unlike previous years, in 2026 a large number of States are putting forward important reforms. It is necessary that all SPRFMO members, without exception, support the approval of the nine proposals,” said Miranda.

He added that next March could mark a turning point for the world’s most important cephalopod fishery.

“What is at stake is not only the conservation of a marine resource, but also the livelihood of thousands of families who depend on giant squid in the coastal countries of the South Pacific, and a product that is widely consumed in all global seafood markets,” concluded Alfonso Miranda, president of CALAMASUR.

Important data

• According to official figures, in the last five years China has annually caught 400,000 tons of giant squid, with a current value exceeding USD 1 billion.

Source: Calamasur

[email protected]
www.seafood.media

Print