---
title: "Listen — the undisputed superpower of the seas (China pt. 1) Episode 6"
description: "Spread across the Earth’s oceans, the Chinese distant-water fishing fleet is the single largest armada in human history. This three-part series is an unprecedented investigation into their secretive fishing practices. The fleet is so gargantuan that even the Chinese government can’t account for all its vessels. We do know it has hauled in more than $35-billion worth of catch per year and sold it across the globe – and yet, almost nothing was known about its practices. That is, until the Outlaw Ocean team started asking questions, and eventually managed to get aboard."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "THE OUTLAW OCEAN PROJECT"
author: "The Outlaw Ocean Project"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/the-outlaw-ocean-project/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-07-17-listen-undisputed-superpower-of-the-seas-china-pt-1-ep-6/"
published: "2025-07-17T18:33:18"
updated: "2025-07-17T18:33:24"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 321
---

# Listen — the undisputed superpower of the seas (China pt. 1) Episode 6

> Spread across the Earth’s oceans, the Chinese distant-water fishing fleet is the single largest armada in human history. This three-part series is an unprecedented investigation into their secretive fishing practices. The fleet is so gargantuan that even the Chinese government can’t account for all its vessels. We do know it has hauled in more than $35-billion worth of catch per year and sold it across the globe – and yet, almost nothing was known about its practices. That is, until the Outlaw Ocean team started asking questions, and eventually managed to get aboard.

By The Outlaw Ocean Project · Published 17 July 2025, 20:33 SAST · Updated 17 July 2025, 20:33 SAST

## Key points
- We uncover a shocking reality where Chinese fishing vessels double as floating prisons, with one survivor’s harrowing account revealing a dark underbelly of forced labour and desperation lurking just beneath the waves.
- A shocking trend: Chinese fishing vessels off Uruguay have been linked to an average of one dead body every six weeks, revealing a dark underbelly of human rights abuses.
- Indonesian deckhand Daniel Aritonang's harrowing experience highlights the widespread forced labour and neglect within the Chinese-run fish processing industry.
- Vulnerable recruits are often lured into this exploitative system, with many never returning home, underscoring the urgent need for awareness and action.
- A rare opportunity arises as the crew of a Chinese vessel speaks out for help, revealing the desperate conditions they endure while working at sea.

## Content

#### **Episode highlights:**

- Averaging one dead body every six weeks, mostly-Chinese fishing vessels have been dropping off their deceased in Uruguay’s coastal capital for years. But in 2021, an Indonesian deckhand named Daniel Aritonang arrives clinging to life. He’s conscious enough to say he’d been beaten, tied up by the neck and starved for days;
- We learn Daniel’s story is shockingly common in the world’s Chinese-run fish processing infrastructure. It’s a realm where health and human safety are secondary to meeting quotas and where forced labour and human rights abuses are rampant. We learn how vulnerable people like Daniel are recruited, and how routinely they never make it home; and
- The team is convinced that they need to speak directly to the crew on one of these vessels. They themselves are shocked when a captain agrees to let them aboard. Even more surprising, a minder briefly leaves host Ian Urbina alone with the crew and immediately some men plead to be rescued.

[Spotify audio](https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/5CA40PM1MJkAUlKUHvK7N7?utm_source=generator)

![Ian Urbina throws a bottle with a message inside to crew members aboard a Chinese squid jigger in the Atlantic Ocean near the Falkland Islands in February 2022. (Photo: Ed Ou//The Outlaw Ocean Project)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/gucz9URtkpZeZ7odpnrPvYf7uTQ=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/OO_2023-03_BACKSTORY_REPORTING-PROCESS_v020_CLEAN_NO-MUSIC_08496-4x.jpg)

*Ian Urbina throws a bottle with a message inside to crew members aboard a Chinese squid jigger in the Atlantic Ocean near the Falkland Islands in February 2022. (Photo: Ed Ou / The Outlaw Ocean Project)*

![A deckhand aboard a Chinese squid vessel is silhouetted against the bright lights as the automated jigs pull squid up from the depths. (Photo: Ben Blankenship/The Outlaw Ocean Project)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/uWIJpcCeAdod4R7YZGXnAEAdrfw=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2022_07_09-DECKHAND-HAND-LINING-ABOARD-THE-JAO_TU_668-GALAPAGOS-BEN-SCREEN-GRAB.jpg)

*A deckhand aboard a Chinese squid vessel is silhouetted against the bright lights as the automated jigs pull squid up from the depths. (Photo: Ben Blankenship / The Outlaw Ocean Project)*

![A Chinese squid jigger transiting across dark waters and ominous skies near the Falkland Islands in February 2022. (Photo: Ed Ou//The Outlaw Ocean Project)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/0MNKjpNsf_E-Xw_ldKJ3lQoO5ZM=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2022_02_27_SOUTH_ATLANTIC_SQUID_FU_XIAN_SUNSET_ED_PHOTO_00194.jpg)

*A Chinese squid jigger transiting across dark waters and under ominous skies near the Falkland Islands in February 2022. (Photo: Ed Ou / The Outlaw Ocean Project)*

![A Chinese squid jigger fishing near the Falkland Islands in February 2022. (Photo: Ed Ou//The Outlaw Ocean Project)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/EEnrtelUZnpx-IipjMy4jRjij5w=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2022_02_26_SOUTH_ATLANTIC_SQUID_TRAWLER_AND_JIGGING_BROLL_ED_PHOTO_00073.jpg)

*A Chinese squid jigger fishing near the Falkland Islands in February 2022. (Photo: Ed Ou / The Outlaw Ocean Project)*

![Chinese squid ships, which make up the largest ditant water fleet in the world, fishing near the Falkland Islands. (Photo: Ed Ou//The Outlaw Ocean Project)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/wlUDG7x1ivtMNXngb-6QiRwV-TU=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2022_02_25_SOUTH_ATLANTIC_SQUID_SUNSET_SQUID_SHIP_LIGHTS_ED_PHOTO_00039.jpg)

*Chinese squid ships, which make up the largest distant-water fleet in the world, fishing near the Falkland Islands. (Photo: Ed Ou / The Outlaw Ocean Project)*

![A Chinese squid jigger operating near the Falkland Islands in Februaru 2022. (Photo: Ed Ou//The Outlaw Ocean Project)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/cJcFhlgSOLeKvcrINzfzMgX9Tow=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2022_02_25_SOUTH_ATLANTIC_SQUID_JIGGER_BZUU3_MAVIC_00008_00197-2X.jpg)

*A Chinese squid jigger operating near the Falkland Islands in February 2022. (Photo: Ed Ou / The Outlaw Ocean Project)*

[YouTube video: "YouTube video"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REeWvTRUpMk)