Chinese Fishing Vessel Detained Off Nagasaki, Captain Arrested

On February 13, the Kyushu Fisheries Coordination Office of the Japanese Fisheries Agency announced that a Chinese fishing vessel (carrying 11 crew members) disobeyed orders to stop and fled within Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the coast of Nagasaki Prefecture. The vessel was detained on suspicion of violating Japan’s Fisheries Sovereignty Law, and the Chinese captain, Chong Nian Li (47 years old), was arrested on the spot. The arrest date was February 12.

This is the first time this year that the Japanese Fisheries Agency has detained a foreign fishing vessel, and the first time since 2022 that it has detained a Chinese fishing vessel.

The captain was arrested on February 12 for allegedly disobeying orders to stop issued by fisheries inspectors for boarding inspection approximately 170 kilometers southwest of the Mejima Lighthouse in Goto City, Nagasaki Prefecture, and fleeing the area.