A satellite image of pair trawlers in North Korean waters.Credit:Global Fishing Watch
Report co-author Quentin Hanich,an associate professor at the University of Wollongong,said the study was the first in the world to combine multiple satellite databases to uncover"the largest example of illegal,unreported,and unregulated fishing the world has ever seen".
"The massive scale of this illegal operation poses substantial implications for fisheries governance and regional geopolitics,"he said.
The multinational research team,which also included the Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency,the Korean Maritime Institute,the University of California and Duke University,combined four different satellite technologies across two years to identify and collate the data. They found up to 900 industrial boats,originating from China,were fishing in North Korean waters.
"If they are operating with approval from either or both governments,those states are in violation of UN Security Council sanctions[on North Korea],"the report said.
"If these vessels do not have approval from both the Chinese and North Korean governments,they are fishing illegally;Chinese regulations require ministerial approval to fish in foreign waters."