Chapter 468 Scallop War
Comments flooded the screen: "Holy crap, so many ships? Are these pirates?"
"Are there pirates in the Atlantic?"
"The above poster is naive. Wherever there is sea, there are pirates. Right now, the pirates in Malacca are even more ferocious than those in the Gulf of Aden!"
"Once Thailand has built the Kra Canal, who would still use the Strait of Malacca? It would save at least 1,000 kilometers!"
“Singapore and Malaysia would have cried by then, right?”
"You're off topic! Listen to what the host is saying."
Xiao Peng looked at them and shook his head. "These people are not pirates, but ordinary fishermen."
"Fishermen?"
“Why would fishermen intercept passing boats?”
Xiao Peng explained, "These are all French fishermen. The waters we're in are high seas, and the distribution of fishery resources there presents a major problem. France is a bit like China in that, to protect marine fishery resources, they have a period of annual 'closed fishing season' to allow marine life to recover. This period runs from May 15th to October 1st. The UK, on the other hand, doesn't have this rule; they can fish year-round, with no size restrictions on scallops. This kind of 'destroying' fishing is causing serious fishing conflicts between the two sides."
At this moment, someone on the barrage of comments was furiously commenting, "This is nonsense! Foreigners prioritize environmental protection, so how could they possibly engage in such indiscriminate fishing?"
"The anchor is a '50-cent party member', confirmed!"
"The idiot above has finished his assessment. This anchor is a billionaire and you call him a '50-cent party member'? Does he need it?"
Xiao Peng looked at the barrage of comments and waved his hands, saying, "Don't argue with people like that. Foreigners do value environmental protection. Anyone who's been to Paris will undoubtedly be impressed by the pigeon droppings and rats there. While the British aren't as perverted as France, they're pretty close. So here's the question: why do fishermen in the UK still overfish? The reason is simple: those calling for conservation aren't those who depend on these fisheries for their survival. For British fishermen, the more they catch, the more money they earn, and the better off their families are. So from that perspective, it's hard to say who's right or wrong."
"After spending so much time abroad, I've come to the conclusion: Don't listen to what foreigners say, but watch what they do. The British keep saying how important 'environmental issues' are, but their exploitation of natural resources is beyond your imagination. Back then, tiny Iceland fought the British three times just for cod!"
"When you mention Iceland now, everyone knows it's actually a very 'new' country, founded only in 1944. However, it was bullied from its childhood. Back then, the only boats you'd see along its coast were foreign fishing boats, catching cod. It wasn't until 1958 that Iceland, in accordance with international regulations, expanded its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles from its coastline and required all other national vessels to leave by August 30th of that year. All foreign fishing boats chose to leave, but Britain refused. Not only did they not withdraw, they even sent 37 ships to escort the British fishing boats. Iceland, at the time, didn't have a single warship. The so-called warships were small gunboats converted from fishing vessels. With these small gunboats chasing British warships, Britain was in a difficult position. What if the conflict escalated? It would become a diplomatic issue. They set the rules, but they were also the ones breaking them. So Britain, forced to sit down and negotiate with Iceland."
"It doesn't matter if we don't talk about the outcome. There were three negotiations in total. The first: Britain formally recognized Iceland's 12-nautical-mile territorial waters. The second, Iceland further expanded its territorial waters, and Britain compromised again. The third, Iceland simply announced a 50-nautical-mile fishing ban. This time, Britain couldn't stand it anymore and sent warships again, only for Iceland to resort to its usual tactics: shelling the ships and cutting the fishing nets. The two sides engaged in another fierce battle, but since both were NATO members, Britain finally backed down again. In 1974, due to a sharp decline in Iceland's cod catch, Iceland announced an extension of the fishing ban to 200 nautical miles! Britain couldn't take it anymore. This time, no one could persuade them. Various sanctions and diplomatic severances escalated into a turmoil. Finally, with no other options left, the European Community publicly declared that all European countries' exclusive maritime zones would be limited to 200 nautical miles. This is the origin of the '200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.'"
"But here comes the problem: France and the UK are only a few dozen nautical miles apart. Whose exclusive economic zone is this? How are the marine resources here calculated? The final solution is to fish by 'selling quotas'. For example, if I'm a fisherman and I buy a quota for 50 tons of scallops, then I can catch a maximum of 50 tons of scallops here. And these scallop quotas also cost money. But the scallops are all caught by the British. When the French fishermen come and pay for the quota, they find that there are no scallops. Can these French fishermen accept this? Of course not. So the result is as you see: French fishermen stood up to protect this sea area! Hua Chong, prepare the water cannon! No need to connect the water this time!"
After hearing Xiao Peng's words, the entire live broadcast room exploded:
"Why are water cannons being used?"
"Aren't they just some fishermen? What's the big deal?"
"And they said we don't need to get hot water this time? Does that mean they did get hot water?"
"How can we prepare boiling water on the ship? You must be kidding! There's no such thing as a boiler that big!"
"Upstairs, there's something called a diesel boiler and a water-cooling compartment. It's not hard to get hot water!"
Xiao Peng glanced at the comments and replied, "I can answer you here. We were originally prepared to have a water battle with the 'vultures', but they chickened out, so we didn't use it. As for your question about whether we used water cannons here? Well, I can tell you, the sea is never as peaceful as you think. You think these French fishermen are victims, right? Well, let me tell you, when they clashed with the British fishermen, they used Molotov cocktails and the like! Softies can't make a living at sea! Although my company is registered in France, this ship is registered in China. See? It's flying the Chinese flag! Our country's fishing boats don't have a good reputation abroad. The North Atlantic fishing grounds have been severely damaged by Chinese fishing boats. Don't let these idiots mistake us for fishing boats! Chen Cheng, contact the fishing boats and tell them we are passing ships and ask them to get out of the way! Hua Chong, operate the water cannon and spray a few jets of water to scare them!"
After Xiao Peng finished directing, he smiled into the camera and said, "Those of you who follow the news may know that the UK has finally completed Brexit. The biggest challenge plaguing Brexit is the fisheries dispute. Interestingly, both the UK and the EU claim they have gained the upper hand on this issue. But as you can see here, the truth is: the problem isn't resolved; it's just the beginning!"
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