The Chinese vessel seized in Japan's EEZ used a "tiger net" — a devastating method with 1cm mesh that strips the ocean bare, including juvenile fish. Explore how this "sea vacuum cleaner" works and why IUU fishing by Chinese fleets threatens oceans from South America to Africa.
Japan's Fisheries Agency seized a Chinese fishing vessel and arrested its captain in the EEZ off Goto Islands, Nagasaki, on February 12, 2026—the first Chinese vessel seizure since 2022. We report on illegal fishing in Japanese waters and Sino-Japanese maritime tensions, with reactions from Japan and abroad.
