China is a fisheries superpower: according to the UN, it consumes around 36 per cent of total global fish production, and hauls in 15.2 million tonnes of marine life a year, or 20 per cent of the world's entire annual catch.

Beijing says its distant water fishing fleet numbers around 2,500 ships, but one study claimed it could have as many as 17,000 boats trawling the world's oceans. The US, by comparison, has just 300 distant water vessels.

Armed with huge Chinese Government subsidies, this massive fleet is now being deployed across nearly every ocean of the world.

The fleet is routinely found to be violating the law, targeting endangered shark species, falsifying licenses and documentation, as well as committing human rights abuses onboard its vessels.

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