Chapter 940: Stop Poaching
The Luna and Calypso increased their speed and headed towards the illegal fishing fleet.
As the illegal fishing boats appeared on the horizon, the Luna's radio received a call: "Luna! Luna! You have entered the trawler operating area. Please bypass immediately!"
Xiao Peng was a little confused after hearing this: "Oh my god, illegal fishing is so rampant?"
Chen Cheng explained, "Boss, neither the Luna nor the Calypso are out to catch illegal fishing. How could they be afraid? They've figured they'll scare us off first. They're the first to complain! How can I respond?"
"What the hell! Drive over there!" Xiao Peng said, "Khedira, use the drone to fly over there and take a look at the evidence!"
"Leave it to me!" Khedira took the drone to the top deck.
"Ma Xiao also received the radio call!" Chen Cheng said.
Xiao Peng shook his head: "Ignore them, let's just go straight over there! Let the 'Calypso' follow!"
While the Calypso wasn't as large as the Luna, it was significantly slower. Even though they could see the fishing boats, even at the Luna's speed, it would take over an hour to get past them. If they tried to escape, there was no telling how long the pursuit would take. They say, "If you're looking for a mountain, you'll never get there," and the situation at sea is similar.
Hua Chong called the second mate over to work for him, and he ran out directly with Walter.
"Where are you going?" Xiao Peng was puzzled.
Hua Chong laughed and said, "Boss, didn't you say that when something happens, we should plan for the worst and be prepared for the best? Walter and I will go get the machine guns ready. Hey, I've never used this GAU-19 before! Our country's ships all have single-barrel 14.5mm heavy machine guns. Let me try it out and see how it feels!"
Xiao Peng thought about it and didn't stop him. Hua Chong was right. We should always make the worst-case scenario and the best preparations for everything!
"Remember, you are not allowed to shoot without my order. If you really want to play, I will let you play enough later!" Xiao Peng said.
"Okay, boss!" Hua Chong and Walter walked out of the cabin.
It is said that one should "cross the river by feeling the stones". China's military industry is "crossing the river by feeling the stones". There was a period when the Chinese Navy also felt that ship-borne machine guns were useless. However, when they saw that the American warships were almost sunk by rubber boats without machine guns, China also began to pay attention to ship-borne machine guns.
Chinese warships used to use 30mm caliber machine guns, but they were quite awkward. They were ineffective against large warships, and too powerful against small and medium-sized ships, easily causing shipwreck and loss of life. Consequently, Chinese warships were later equipped with single-barreled 14.5mm caliber heavy machine guns, which played a significant role in combating piracy in the Gulf of Aden.
Walter wasn't particularly interested in the ship's GAU-19 triple-barreled machine guns. Although American-made, they were standard equipment on many German Navy ships, and he'd already fired them countless times. But Hua Chong was incredibly curious and wanted to play with this giant weapon. Now was his chance!
The radio kept ringing with calls from illegal fishing boats, but Chen Cheng ignored them and directed the Luna to speed towards the poachers. It wasn't long before the radio was filled with a barrage of insults.
"What a dirty curse!" Chen Cheng frowned.
Xiao Peng smiled and said, "How many people on the sea are as polite and courteous as me?"
Chen Cheng raised his hand halfway and then lowered it. He wasn't Hua Chong, so he was more restrained. His middle finger was only halfway raised...
Those trawlers were all working at a very slow speed. In more than an hour, the Luna rushed to the outskirts of the trawlers' working circle.
When they arrived, a trawler was collecting its nets. Xiao Peng was furious when he saw the mesh of the net.
Trawlers are generally classified into three types based on the type of trawling: front trawling, stern trawling, and side trawling. The vessel currently collecting the net is a large stern trawler, roughly the same size as the Calypso, with its own onboard cold storage. Its displacement must be at least 3,000 tons.
Trawlers like these should use large nets, but the one in front of them was using small nets, commonly known as "destroying nets." Damn these illegal fishing boats! The impact of such trawls on the bottom ecosystem is not small!
Xiao Peng was furious. "Chen Cheng, tell Hua Chong to fire a warning shot to stop the poaching! Contact them and tell them who we are. Tell them to give up resistance and follow us to Morocco!"
Chen Cheng was observing through a telescope. After hearing what Xiao Peng said, he said, "Boss, are you sure you want to do this?"
Xiao Peng nodded: "Nonsense! What's the problem?"
Finally, Chen Cheng handed the telescope to Xiao Peng: "Boss, take a look for yourself!"
Xiao Peng was confused: "What do you mean?"
As a result, he looked in the direction of Chen Cheng's finger and his brows twisted into a knot: "Chinese?"
Chen Cheng nodded and said, "It looks like it. I've looked at several ships and they all look like Chinese people! There are also a few Africans."
Xiao Peng fell silent.
African seafood is extremely valuable to China. In fact, approximately three-fifths of China's overseas catch comes from African waters. However, this also attracts many criminals. Senegal once apprehended seven Chinese fishing vessels illegally fishing, and numerous other incidents have occurred in the Gulf of Guinea. According to Greenpeace data, at least seventy-four Chinese fishing vessels have been illegally fishing in West Africa in the past two years.
Once, 24 African countries united to call on China to take measures to manage the problem of illegal fishing by Chinese people in Africa.
But how could China manage this? Those Chinese fishing boats weren't originally from China. Instead of sailing from China to West Africa, they could simply buy a local boat, register it in Panama, and then fish there. As long as they didn't get caught, they could recoup their costs in a short period of time—and all their catches would go directly to the European market for huge profits!
Chen Cheng asked, "Boss, are we still going to arrest them?"
Xiao Peng came back to his senses and his eyes were fierce: "Catch him! Why not catch him?"
Chen Cheng coughed twice and said, "Boss, you have to think carefully. If you do this and the news gets back to China, you will be scolded to death!"
Xiao Peng frowned after hearing this. "Chen Cheng, what do you mean? You want me to pretend I didn't see anything? They are indeed our compatriots, but their actions are a crime! Just because we are compatriots, should we turn a blind eye to their criminal behavior?"
Chen Cheng hurriedly said, "Boss, I absolutely support you in doing this! But those online trolls don't care. In their eyes, they don't care whether these illegal fishermen are committing crimes. They will only say that you are selling out your country for personal gain, betraying your ancestors, and selling out your compatriots!"
Xiao Peng smiled coldly: "What do you think?"
"I'm ashamed to have compatriots like this!" Chen Cheng gritted his teeth and picked up the intercom: "Hua Chong, fire warning shots. Tell them to stop the illegal fishing and accept investigation!"
"Okay!"
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