CCG departments handle over 250 cases of illegal sea sand mining and unlawful use of marine resources in 2024

China Coast Guard (CCG) departments at all levels handled over 250 cases related to illegal sea sand mining and improper use of marine resources throughout 2024, in an effort to safeguard marine ecosystems and natural resources, the CCG said on Monday in a statement which revealed several typical cases.

Throughout last year, the CCG departments at all levels processed over 250 cases of illegal sea sand mining, unauthorized use of marine areas, illegal waste dumping, and endangering the safety of submarine cables and pipelines. In addition, the authorities also uncovered more than 20 cases related to precious and endangered wild animals, leading to the confiscation of over 1,200 live corals and 12,700 seahorses.

On January 11, 2024, the local CCG departments in Pingtan and Fuzhou, East China's Fujian Province, intercepted six vessels allegedly engaged in illegal sea sand mining and transportation in the waters near Tingjiang in Fuzhou, confiscating over 18,000 tons of sea sand and apprehending 33 individuals involved.

Through investigations, the departments found out that a Guangdong-based company used a dredging project as a cover and organized six vessels to operate beyond authorized areas, illegally mining and transporting sea sand for profit, with 32 shipments of sand transferred.

On June 13, 2024, the local CCG authority in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, identified a grab dredger and a mud barge suspected of engaging in illegal waste dumping at sea. Investigations revealed that a Guangzhou-based company organized two grab dredgers and four mud barges conducting over 400 instances of illegal waste dumping when conducting dredging work near Guangzhou's Nansha district from March to June 2024 without obtaining a marine dumping permit. The local coast guard bureau imposed a fine of 1.35 million yuan ($184,534) on the company for dumping waste without the required permit.

The CCG bureau in Zhangzhou, Fujian, confiscated a fishing vessel suspected of illegal fishing and discovered 12,700 wild seahorses aboard on May 27, 2024, and the CCG bureau in Haikou, South China's Hainan Province intercepted a foreign fishing vessel in April 2024, apprehending six individuals and over 1,200 live corals and some dead corals.

In another case, the local CCG department in Tangshan, North China's Hebei Province, discovered on September 25, 2024, that a local catering service company set up a solid waste dumping site and surrounding facilities on Yuetuo Island, a provincial-level protected uninhabited island, without approval from the natural resources authority. On November 17, the CCG Tangshan bureau ordered the company to rectify the violation within a specified period of time for conducting production and construction activities on an uninhabited island without authorization, and imposed a fine of 170,000 yuan on the company.

In conjunction with relevant departments including China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the CCG continued its "Blue Sea" special law enforcement campaign, aimed at protecting marine ecosystems and regulating resource utilization in 2024, with the emphasis placed on inspections and supervision of key areas, important targets, and major projects.

Efforts have been actively made to address issues such as illegal occupation of sea areas, unlawful dumping of waste, and activities harming precious and endangered wild animals, aiming to protect the marine ecological environment and natural resources, according to the statement.