India, March 20 -- Far from China's shores, an expansive armada of distant-water fishing vessels is causing alarm across the globe. The vast fleet, numbering between 450 and 500 ships off Argentina's Atlantic coast alone, has raised international concern for systematically violating maritime norms, devastating marine ecosystems, and destabilising local economies.

Off Argentina's coastline, the fleet positions itself just beyond the nation's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), primarily targeting squid during peak fishing season from December to March. These vessels illuminate the night sea with intense artificial lights to attract squid, depleting stocks critical to both marine biodiversity and Argentina's coastal communities. To evade enforc...