No longer fishermen

When the bounties of the sea are being disputed over, resorting to violence is not surprising. This is exactly what is happening at the English Channel, or that small stretch of ocean between the UK and France. The issue is the harvesting of scallops. Violence occurred between five UK fishing vessels and 35 French fishing boats. The UK ships are considerably larger than their French counterparts. The French threw smoke bombs and rocks at the British, some even ramming them to force them to head north. Hard to believe all this over scallops.

According to the French, they are at a disadvantage because they have to follow a government-designated season for harvesting scallops while the British don’t. They can only harvest between October and mid-May. The British start harvesting by mid-August, so by the time they get to the fishing grounds, these have already been depleted. The British ships also have capabilities to freeze their catch, allowing them to stay longer. Agreements have been made in the past regarding fishing in the channel, but the French no longer agreed to one this year. Governments are calling for sobriety between the groups. The English are stating that their fishermen are fishing legally, while the French are calling on them to fairly harvest the scallops. It is unlikely that the two countries would go to war over this, even though they have a history of going at each other’s throats.

We actually have the same situation. Sort of. The Chinese fishing boats are bigger and are fishing all over the South China Sea, while they dictate as to where our fishermen can fish. We cannot throw smoke bombs and rocks at the Chinese fishing vessels, since the Chinese Coast Guard also patrol the areas. These are the large white ships that dot the seas. As with the British and French, the situation is not fair, since there is no agreement between the Chinese and the Philippines with regards to fishing seasons or the amount of fish that can be caught.

The Chinese even harvest giant clams, which are supposed to be regulated. The problem is our fishermen have poor government support whenever China is concerned, not wanting to anger the so-called friend. Even with all the statements from the DFA, the fact is our fishermen are on an uneven playing field. The Chinese can easily prevent our fishermen from fishing the well-known spots like Panatag Shoal.

Japan has sent their helicopter carrier to the South China Sea, in order to take part in ensuring the freedom of navigation in the region. This is the first time Japan has sent a warship to patrol an area far from their own territory. I know American, British, and Australian warships are also patrolling the South China Sea.

An obvious show of support for the freedom of navigation that may be restricted with China claiming practically the whole ocean. With the number of warships in the region, I’m hoping no untoward incident will happen. These warships do not carry smoke bombs or rocks, nor are they fishermen. Perhaps they can support our fishermen?