Distant-Water Fleet Expansion and RCEP Dividend
On November 1, 38 distant-water fishing vessels departed from Zhoushan, China's largest distant-water fishing hub, in a coordinated wave. The fleet was dominated by squid jiggers, with the remainder consisting of tuna longliners, all bound for extended fishing operations in overseas grounds. To accommodate the concentrated departure, the Zhoushan border inspection station deployed a dedicated green channel, pre-arranged staffing and verification resources, and implemented "arrive-and-inspect" processing. Twelve vessels were handled at the Huiqun wharf, while 26 were diverted to the Mazhi anchorage to avoid congestion. The result was a clearance time roughly half that of normal procedures, according to a local shipping agent.
The significance of this fleet movement lies in what it feeds into. Zhoushan is not merely a fishing port; it is China's dominant processing and distribution node for distant-water catch. The city accounts for more than 70% of the nation's squid production and approximately 40% of tuna imports, making it the single most important source of raw material for China's frozen cephalopod and tuna export sectors. The 38 vessels departing in November will return with catch that enters a supply chain already deeply integrated into international trade.
The export data illustrate how this supply chain is performing. In the first half of 2026, Zhoushan's exports of skipjack and tuna reached 63,011 metric tons, valued at RMB 1.704 billion, up 16.2% in volume and 11.6% in value year-on-year. Tuna exports specifically rose 20% in the January–September period, supported by targeted market-opening efforts including the "Zhoushan Enterprises Going Global" platform connecting local exporters with ASEAN buyers. Squid exports, by contrast, declined 27.5% in volume during the same period, reflecting both softer global prices and supply constraints-a divergence that underscores the importance of product diversification within the distant-water portfolio.
The policy environment is amplifying these commercial dynamics. A 2026 study published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, using a GTAP model to assess RCEP's impact on China's aquatic trade, found that the agreement reduced the average tariff on aquatic products among member states from 6.60% to 0.72%-a decline of 89.10%. Average export clearance time improved by 19.42%, while import clearance time fell by 37.84%. The study further concluded that RCEP has shifted China's aquatic sector "from a domestically oriented pattern toward an export-oriented one," with intra-RCEP trade growth far outpacing trade with non-member economies.
Two operational features of RCEP are particularly consequential for seafood exporters. First, the regional cumulation of origin rule allows raw materials sourced from any RCEP member to be counted toward origin qualification, enabling Chinese processors to blend catch from multiple member states-including distant-water operations-while still securing preferential tariffs. Second, RCEP mandates the release of perishable goods within six hours of arrival, a provision that directly benefits time-sensitive seafood shipments and reduces the risk of quality deterioration at border.
For exporters, the implication is that fleet expansion and trade policy are no longer separate considerations. A vessel departing Zhoushan in November is not simply going fishing; it is initiating a chain of activity whose ultimate competitiveness in ASEAN, Japanese, and Middle Eastern markets depends as much on tariff schedules and cumulation rules as on catch volumes. The convergence of expanded harvesting capacity with a near-zero tariff environment within RCEP creates a structural advantage that exporters can translate into firmer pricing and longer-term buyer contracts-provided they document origin correctly and align their product mix with demand signals from destination markets.
