Arctic fish resources are concentrated mainly where warm currents penetrate into the cold waters of the Arctic Ocean.
For many years, most of the Arctic was an icy desert with extremely low fish stocks and for this reason was not of significant interest in terms of industrial fishing.
Today, when the ice cover is rapidly being depleted due to climate warming, fish feel much more comfortable in the Arctic. Fish migration naturally attracts not only marine animals, but also people who are looking for alternative fishing opportunities to replace the depleted resources of the southern seas.
Moratorium on commercial fishing in the Arctic
The agreement on a moratorium on commercial fishing in the central part of the Arctic Ocean was signed on December 2, 2017.
The agreement was signed not only by the Arctic powers - Russia, the USA, Canada, Norway, Denmark and Iceland, but also by representatives of the European Union, China, Japan and South Korea.
During the 16 years of the moratorium, scientists plan to find out how the decision to ban industrial fishing will affect the ecosystem of the region.
The agreement prohibits the fishing of fish living under the ice. We are talking about Arctic cod and those types of fish that, due to the active melting of the ice cover, migrate not to the north.
The signatories recognized the need to develop measures to regulate industrial fishing, since it involves excessive fishing in the Arctic and great risks to the environment.
Before allowing any fishing on a commercial scale, the parties also agreed to take into account the interests of the indigenous peoples of the North.
The zone of the agreement is at least 200 kilometers from the coastal zone of any coastal state, which is equivalent to 2.8 million square kilometers and approximately equal to the area of the Mediterranean Sea.
Participation in resource management
Faced with growing domestic demand, the Chinese government announced its interest in commercial fishing in the Arctic five years ago, the online resource writes l-express.ca
Beijing's intentions regarding the northern fishery were recorded in the 13th five-year development plan of the state (2017-2021). And already in January 2018, the Chinese government published the first White Paper on the national strategy in the Arctic, in which Beijing calls itself an Arctic state.
The PRC began to study the region at the end of 1990s and by 2017, she had sent eight scientific expeditions to the Arctic Ocean.
Beijing supports the international legal management of fisheries in the Arctic, strengthening monitoring and research of fish stocks, as well as cooperation with coastal States for scientific purposes.
Depletion of stocks
The use of Arctic resources and sea routes directly affects the economy, energy, industry and other sectors of the PRC.
Beijing's interest in the fish resources of the Arctic Ocean is explained by the depletion of the fish population in the Yellow and East China Seas as a result of its overfishing.
The consumption of fish per capita has also increased in China - from 3.1 kg per person in 1985 to 11.4 kg in 2019. In order to satisfy the domestic market, China has no choice but to look for alternative options for industrial fishing.
At the same time, half of China's imports of fish resources from Alaska return to the US market. The Chinese fish and seafood processing sector grew by 42% between 2008 and 2018.
Finally, the growth of the welfare of the population of the Celestial Empire and the increase in the number of its middle class also increase domestic demand for seafood.
Restrictive policy
Granting China, which is not part of the Arctic coastal states, permission to conduct fishing in the Arctic, is likely to face some resistance.
The United States, Canada and Norway have policies aimed at limiting the participation of foreign investors in the national fishing industry. Thus, the Fisheries and Oceans Authority of Canada issues licenses for commercial fishing in its territorial waters exclusively to Canadian vessels.
The United States, for its part, considers Russia's actions in the Arctic and China's penetration there as a threat to the West.
China received observer status in the Arctic Council, which includes Russia, the United States, Canada, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden, in 2013, along with India, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
Currently, there are a total of 13 observer States in the Council.
According to Daniel Pauley, a professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and the creator of the Sea Around Us research project, the Chinese leadership demonstrates the existence of specific ambitious plans by its desire to participate in the management of the Arctic.
"My interpretation of China's intentions is that this state would like to become a world power," the expert says.
An important actor
For China, as one of the largest economies in the world and an important player on the world stage, it is important to have a presence in all corners of the world, experts point out.
Beijing's opinion as a member of the UN Security Council on the development of the Arctic boils down to the fact that this region is the property of all mankind and the principle of freedom of navigation should operate on its territory.
For its part, China offers cooperation for the economic and social development of the Arctic within the framework of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative and the "Arctic Silk Road" project.
As RIA Novosti noted in this regard, when investing in infrastructure projects in Iceland and Greenland, the Chinese do not invest in Russian northern ports. And this is despite the fact that Russia remains China's closest Arctic partner.
The Chinese side has invested only in the Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG-2 projects.
Meanwhile, Beijing's opinion that the Arctic is the property of all mankind and the principle of freedom of navigation should operate in it goes against the Russian position.
Moscow claims the exclusive right to develop its continental shelf and regulate traffic along the Northern Sea Route. The same applies to other Arctic states.
Back in 2012, Moscow was skeptical of China's attempts to get closer to the Arctic, opposing China's accession to the Arctic Council as an observer and Chinese research in the Arctic Ocean. However, the cooling of relations with Western countries softened led to a change in Moscow's position in favor of Beijing.
Russian-chinese dialogue
In recent years, Russia and China have been increasingly discussing the Arctic, and the countries are conducting a dialogue on this topic at the level of ministries of foreign Affairs and experts.
As reported by goarctic.ru, the parties have already signed an agreement on joint work on the Northern Sea Route and within the framework of the Arctic Silk Road.
The parties try not to focus on the divergence of priorities. Moscow says that Beijing's interests do not cause alarm. And, as the leaders of the states Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping assure, strengthening Russian-Chinese cooperation in the Arctic meets the interests of sustainable development of the region.
The Russian-Chinese dialogue in the field of sustainable development of the Arctic was the topic of a conference held in May 2022 within the framework of the Think Arctic project, which is part of the program of Russia's chairmanship in the Arctic Council.
The participants of the meeting noted the growth of cooperation between Moscow and Beijing in the responsible development of the Russian Arctic, outlined the main ways of its further development.
According to the Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry Nikolai Korchunov, despite the decision taken by the members of the Arctic Council to suspend their participation in its work in connection with the Russian presidency, Moscow is open to cooperation with all states that adhere to a constructive approach to interaction in high latitudes.
In particular, Russia will welcome the entry of Chinese partners into the polar projects of the Russian Federation, including through the Arctic Council.
The Russian side called on China to invest in new initiatives implemented beyond the Arctic Circle. Among the priority areas are mining, energy (including carbon–free), transport, infrastructure, socially significant projects.
In the area of special attention is the promotion of cooperation on the development of the Northern Sea Route as a highway of international importance. The guidelines for a productive dialogue in this area are dictated by the objective interests of the parties and are fixed in the previously reached agreements between the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China, goarctic.ru notes.
Alex Shishlo for Rough&Polished
