BUENOS AIRES ¨C On a balmy January night, an Argentine coast guard ship¡¯s radio ?picked up garbled Mandarin broadcast from nearby boats.
They were among some 200 Chinese fishing vessels that spend months at a time each year near the South American country¡¯s waters, hunting primarily for catch to feed the world¡¯s largest squid market.
The size of the flotilla has increased by nearly 50% over the last decade. In that time, Buenos Aires has bulked up its surveillance to ensure the fleet doesn¡¯t fish in the exclusive economic zone where Argentina controls all maritime resources.
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