Chinese fishing firms recruiting internationally as domestic labor sources dry up
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Chinese distant-water fishing firms are stepping up their international recruiting as they fail to compete for domestic labor on wages.
The latest China Fisheries Yearbook, based on 2019 data, shows declining numbers of workers in the fisheries sector, even as incomes rise. Per capita income for fishermen rose by 6.15 percent in 2019 to CNY 21,108 (USD 3,377, EUR 2,744) – up considerably on the figure for 2015, which was CNY 15,594 (USD 2,495, EUR 2,027), according to data from the yearbook, published by China’s Ministry of Agriculture.
But while the average income for fishermen rose in China, it remains low next to the average pay for a manufacturing job in southern China. A factory recruitment agency in Donguan advertised monthly rates of CNY 6,000 (USD 960, EUR 780) in December 2020, including dorm lodging and meals, for workers on a five-and-a-half-day week. These wages have i