China and the United States formed a joint fishing patrol team and inspected the fishing boats suspected of conducting large-scale drift net fishing in north Pacific, according to the Shanghai-based East China Sea Administration for Fishery and Fishing Ports, affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture, on Wednesday.

Sources from the administration said two patrol boats, the China Fishery 202 and JARVIS 725 of the US Coast Guard, took part in the joint action and started cruising on the morning of July 15, Beijing time. The two sides each have two inspectors on the other side's boat to assist the inspection effort.

On the morning of July 17, captains and chief inspectors from both sides met on the Chinese boat and exchanged opinions on sharing information and combating large-scale drift net fishing in high seas. They owed the low production of fishery this year to potential illegal drift net fishing activities and consented to strengthen cooperation and reinforce inspections of fishing boats in the designated sea area.

Both sides agreed that the joint action marks a major breakthrough and they are determined to continue the multi-level cooperation, especially deploying inspectors to the other side's patrol boats.

The joint inspection is scheduled to finish on July 20.

It is the fourth year China has taken part in the Sino-US patrol action on north Pacific. The Chinese boat left Shanghai on July 2.

Large-scale drift net fishing on the high seas is highly destructive to the living marine resources and ecosystems of the world oceans.

Source: Xinhua