As China’s annual summer fishing ban comes to a close, Chinese fishermen are mostly steering clear of North Korea’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a departure from high levels of Chinese fishing in DPRK waters during the same period last year.  

According to data from Global Fishing Watch (GFW), an NGO that monitors illegal fishing, Chinese fishing activity in North Korea’s western EEZ has been markedly less than the same period last year, though disputed waters in the southwest continue to see some activity.

Beijing banned fishing in large swathes of littoral watersbetween May and September