导致中国与多个邻国关系恶化的领土争端在一定程度上是由于中国当地渔业资源大量减少，迫使中国渔船与周边国家发生冲突。

　　Friction between China and Japan in the East China Sea tends to flare shortly after China’s annual summer fishing ban — imposed to protect domestic fisheries — is lifted at the start of August. Similarly, diplomatic and military jostling in the South China Sea plays out against a backdrop of a steady stream of Chinese fishing boats captured in the waters of Indonesia and the Philippines, in what the Chinese foreign ministry has called China’s “traditional fishing grounds”.

　　每年8月初中国夏季休渔期（旨在保护国内渔业资源的禁止捕鱼制度）结束不久，中国与日本在东中国海(East China Sea)的摩擦往往就会升级。同样，南中国海(South China Sea)的外交和军事角力是在这样的背景之下上演的：不断有中国渔船在印尼和菲律宾的领海——中国外交部称之为中国的“传统捕鱼海域”——被扣押。

　　On the first day of August, the crackle and bang of fireworks marked the start of the fishing season in the coastal community along China’s eastern seaboard. A few days later, Japanese diplomats began vociferously protesting against the arrival of a 230-boat flotilla in disputed waters near islands that Japan calls the Senkaku and China the Diaoyu, accompanied by about a dozen Chinese coastguard vessels.

　　8月的第一天，中国东部沿海地区在炮竹声中迎来了开渔季。几天后，日本外交官就高声抗议一支由230条艘船组成的船队在十数艘中国海警船陪同下，进入日本称为尖阁列岛(Senkaku)、中国称为“钓鱼岛及其附属岛屿”的群岛附近的争议海域。

　　Meagre catches in nearby waters plus government subsidies to the fishing industry drive investment in bigger boats, which can roam further in search of more fish. Earlier this year, Chinese boats were caught in Australia, New Zealand and even Argentine waters, on the opposite side of the globe.

　　中国周边海域捕鱼量的匮乏，再加上政府对渔业的补贴，推动渔民投资建造更大型的渔船，到更远的地方捕捞更多的鱼。今年早些时候，在澳大利亚、新西兰、甚至地球另一边的阿根廷海域，都出现了中国渔船的身影。

　　Fishermen in Zhoushan, the eastern archipelago that is home to one of China’s largest fishing communities, say their boats have been pushed further afield by pollution and overfishing in China’s coastal waters.

　　位于华东的舟山群岛是中国最大的渔场之一，当地渔民表示，由于中国近海水域污染严重和过度捕捞的缘故，他们的渔船不得不开赴更远的海域。

　　“In all the seas of China there are no fish,” says Li Minkui, a tanned migrant worker who has drifted to Shenjiamen, the archipelago’s market port, looking for a spot on a boat before the start of the season. Over the 20 years he has worked in and around fishing boats, he says he has seen declines both in catches and the size of fish.

　　“中国所有海域都没鱼了。”皮肤黝黑的李民奎（音译）表示，他从外地来到舟山的沈家门渔港打工，希望开渔前在船上找一份工作。20年来，他不是在渔船上干就是做着相关的工作。据他所见，不光是捕鱼量下降了，鱼的个头也变小了。

　　Other men on the pier agree, shouting out the names of fish — including the yellow croaker, octopus and cuttlefish — that are no longer caught in commercially viable volumes in Zhoushan’s waters. Only eels and shrimp remain, they say.

　　码头上的其他人也同意这种说法，他们张口就说出了几种在舟山海域捕捞量已无法取得经济效益的鱼类，其中包括黄花鱼、章鱼和墨鱼。他们说，值得捕捞的只剩下鳗鱼和虾了。

　　Foreign analysts sometimes depict Chinese fishing boats as convenient fronts for paramilitary expansionism. But the technocrats setting Chinese fishing policy frame it the opposite way: China’s need to catch fish justifies a stronger international stance. The Chinese ambassador to Tokyo said that the dozen coast guard vessels deployed to the East China Sea this month were to “protect its fishing boats”.

　　外国分析人士有时会将中国渔船描述为中国进行准军事扩张的便利前线。中国负责制定渔业政策框架的技术官员却有着相反的说法：捕鱼的需求表明中国有必要在国际上持更强硬的立场。中国驻日大使表示，本月派往东中国海的十几条海警船是为了“保护中国渔船”。

　　Earlier this month, China’s minister of agriculture said the country would trim its fishing fleet to preserve local fish stocks. Previous initiatives have been coupled with incentives to expand the long-distance fleet, thus increasing the fishing pressure in international waters.

　　中国农业部长本月早些时候表示，中国将减少渔船数量，以保护国内渔业资源。此前推行的相关措施同时伴随着扩大远洋渔船数量的激励措施，加大了国际海域的捕捞压力。

　　Chinese overfishing is partly driven by rising demand thanks to improved standards of living — by some counts, China accounts for about a third of world seafood consumption, including farmed fish.

　　中国的过度捕捞部分是由于居民生活水平提高导致对鱼类需求上升推动的。根据一些估算，包括养殖的鱼类在内，中国约占世界海产品消费量的三分之一。

　　But that is far from the only factor. Chinese processors are the largest source of seafood imported into the UK, and account for substantial shares of the fish sold in Europe, North America, Japan and Korea. Almost half the Chinese fleet’s catch in international waters is ultimately exported.

　　但这绝非造成过度捕捞的唯一因素。中国加工厂是英国海产品进口的最大来源，欧洲、北美、日本和韩国市场上销售的鱼类产品，有相当大一部分也来自中国。中国渔船在国际海域捕获的鱼类接近一半最终用于出口。

　　Meanwhile, rapid expansion fuelled by debt and government incentives has left Chinese fish processors struggling with overcapacity, like many other industries in China. That encourages Beijing to subsidise the Chinese fishing fleet to keep searching for diminishing supplies of fish, just to maintain jobs in fish processing, boatbuilding and other related industries.

　　另一方面，在债务和政府激励措施助推下的快速扩张，已经让中国鱼类加工厂饱受产能过剩之苦，落入与中国其他许多产业相似的困境。这种局面愈发促使中国政府补贴国内渔船，以继续捕捞日渐减少的鱼类，仅仅是为了维持鱼类加工、造船及其他相关产业的就业机会。

　　“If the country wasn’t subsidising the diesel, half the boats here would be off the water,” says Mr Chen, a boat owner from Zhoushan who believes he is the last generation in his family to make a living off the sea. “But fishermen need to fish. If there aren’t fish in our waters, we need to go somewhere else.”

　　舟山一位陈姓船主表示：“如果国家不补贴柴油，这里有一半渔船不会出海。”他相信自己是家里在海上谋生的最后一代人。“不过渔民就要打鱼，如果我们的水域没鱼了，我们就得去别的地方。”