中國漁民在地緣政治衝突中的角色

The territorial tensions that are inflaming relations between China and its neighbours are due in part to a collapse in local fish stocks, which is pushing the Chinese fishing fleet into conflict with nearby states.

導致中國與多個鄰國關係惡化的領土爭端在一定程度上是由於中國當地漁業資源大量減少，迫使中國漁船與周邊國家發生衝突。

Friction between China and Japan in the East China Sea tends to flare shortly after China’s annual summer fishing ban — imposed to protect domestic fisheries — is lifted at the start of August. Similarly, diplomatic and military jostling in the South China Sea plays out against a backdrop of a steady stream of Chinese fishing boats captured in the waters of Indonesia and the Philippines, in what the Chinese foreign ministry has called China’s “traditional fishing grounds”.

每年8月初中國夏季休漁期（旨在保護國內漁業資源的禁止捕魚制度）結束不久，中國與日本在東中國海(East China Sea)的摩擦往往就會升級。同樣，南中國海(South China Sea)的外交和軍事角力是在這樣的背景之下上演的：不斷有中國漁船在印尼和菲律賓的領海——中國外交部稱之爲中國的“傳統捕魚海域”——被扣押。

On the first day of August, the crackle and bang of fireworks marked the start of the fishing season in the coastal community along China’s eastern seaboard. A few days later, Japanese diplomats began vociferously protesting against the arrival of a 230-boat flotilla in disputed waters near islands that Japan calls the Senkaku and China the Diaoyu, accompanied by about a dozen Chinese coastguard vessels.

8月的第一天，中國東部沿海地區在炮竹聲中迎來了開漁季。幾天後，日本外交官就高聲抗議一支由230條艘船組成的船隊在十數艘中國海警船陪同下，進入日本稱爲尖閣列島(Senkaku)、中國稱爲“釣魚島及其附屬島嶼”的羣島附近的爭議海域。

Meagre catches in nearby waters plus government subsidies to the fishing industry drive investment in bigger boats, which can roam further in search of more fish. Earlier this year, Chinese boats were caught in Australia, New Zealand and even Argentine waters, on the opposite side of the globe.

中國周邊海域捕魚量的匱乏，再加上政府對漁業的補貼，推動漁民投資建造更大型的漁船，到更遠的地方捕撈更多的魚。今年早些時候，在澳大利亞、新西蘭、甚至地球另一邊的阿根廷海域，都出現了中國漁船的身影。

Fishermen in Zhoushan, the eastern archipelago that is home to one of China’s largest fishing communities, say their boats have been pushed further afield by pollution and overfishing in China’s coastal waters.

位於華東的舟山羣島是中國最大的漁場之一，當地漁民表示，由於中國近海水域污染嚴重和過度捕撈的緣故，他們的漁船不得不開赴更遠的海域。

“In all the seas of China there are no fish,” says Li Minkui, a tanned migrant worker who has drifted to Shenjiamen, the archipelago’s market port, looking for a spot on a boat before the start of the season. Over the 20 years he has worked in and around fishing boats, he says he has seen declines both in catches and the size of fish.

“中國所有海域都沒魚了。”皮膚黝黑的李民奎（音譯）表示，他從外地來到舟山的沈家門漁港打工，希望開漁前在船上找一份工作。20年來，他不是在漁船上幹就是做着相關的工作。據他所見，不光是捕魚量下降了，魚的個頭也變小了。

Other men on the pier agree, shouting out the names of fish — including the yellow croaker, octopus and cuttlefish — that are no longer caught in commercially viable volumes in Zhoushan’s waters. Only eels and shrimp remain, they say.

碼頭上的其他人也同意這種說法，他們張口就說出了幾種在舟山海域捕撈量已無法取得經濟效益的魚類，其中包括黃花魚、章魚和墨魚。他們說，值得捕撈的只剩下鰻魚和蝦了。

Foreign analysts sometimes depict Chinese fishing boats as convenient fronts for paramilitary expansionism. But the technocrats setting Chinese fishing policy frame it the opposite way: China’s need to catch fish justifies a stronger international stance. The Chinese ambassador to Tokyo said that the dozen coast guard vessels deployed to the East China Sea this month were to “protect its fishing boats”.

外國分析人士有時會將中國漁船描述爲中國進行準軍事擴張的便利前線。中國負責制定漁業政策框架的技術官員卻有着相反的說法：捕魚的需求表明中國有必要在國際上持更強硬的立場。中國駐日大使表示，本月派往東中國海的十幾條海警船是爲了“保護中國漁船”。

Earlier this month, China’s minister of agriculture said the country would trim its fishing fleet to preserve local fish stocks. Previous initiatives have been coupled with incentives to expand the long-distance fleet, thus increasing the fishing pressure in international waters.

中國農業部長本月早些時候表示，中國將減少漁船數量，以保護國內漁業資源。此前推行的相關措施同時伴隨着擴大遠洋漁船數量的激勵措施，加大了國際海域的捕撈壓力。

Chinese overfishing is partly driven by rising demand thanks to improved standards of living — by some counts, China accounts for about a third of world seafood consumption, including farmed fish.

中國的過度捕撈部分是由於居民生活水平提高導致對魚類需求上升推動的。根據一些估算，包括養殖的魚類在內，中國約佔世界海產品消費量的三分之一。

But that is far from the only factor. Chinese processors are the largest source of seafood imported into the UK, and account for substantial shares of the fish sold in Europe, North America, Japan and Korea. Almost half the Chinese fleet’s catch in international waters is ultimately exported.

但這絕非造成過度捕撈的唯一因素。中國加工廠是英國海產品進口的最大來源，歐洲、北美、日本和韓國市場上銷售的魚類產品，有相當大一部分也來自中國。中國漁船在國際海域捕獲的魚類接近一半最終用於出口。

Meanwhile, rapid expansion fuelled by debt and government incentives has left Chinese fish processors struggling with overcapacity, like many other industries in China. That encourages Beijing to subsidise the Chinese fishing fleet to keep searching for diminishing supplies of fish, just to maintain jobs in fish processing, boatbuilding and other related industries.

另一方面，在債務和政府激勵措施助推下的快速擴張，已經讓中國魚類加工廠飽受產能過剩之苦，落入與中國其他許多產業相似的困境。這種局面愈發促使中國政府補貼國內漁船，以繼續捕撈日漸減少的魚類，僅僅是爲了維持魚類加工、造船及其他相關產業的就業機會。

“If the country wasn’t subsidising the diesel, half the boats here would be off the water,” says Mr Chen, a boat owner from Zhoushan who believes he is the last generation in his family to make a living off the sea. “But fishermen need to fish. If there aren’t fish in our waters, we need to go somewhere else.”

舟山一位陳姓船主表示：“如果國家不補貼柴油，這裏有一半漁船不會出海。”他相信自己是家裏在海上謀生的最後一代人。“不過漁民就要打魚，如果我們的水域沒魚了，我們就得去別的地方。”