Pingtan Marine projects major rise in revenue after new fish stock discovery

Chinese distant-water fishing firm Pingtan Marine is projecting a 100 percent increase in revenue in 2020 thanks to what it’s calling the discovery of “new seasonal fishery stock in international waters.”

The company, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in a statement to investors it had “discovered new seasonal fishery stock in international waters early this year and has arranged a group of harvesting vessels to the waters for fishing operations.”

“Given the above, the company expects the revenue for the full fiscal year 2021 to increase by 100 percent or higher,” it said.

The company hasn’t explained which species or which international waters it’s referring to. SeafoodSource has sought clarification from the firm.

Pingtan Marine operates vessels fishing in the Bay of Bengal, the South Atlantic, and off Indonesia. The firm has also announced plans to enter Antarctic waters to fish krill.

"There is a lot of positive inertia in our business right now,” Pingtan Chairman and CEO Xinrong Zhuo said. “Whether it is more vessels fishing, new seasonal fishery stock discovered in the international waters, or the vertical integration of our business model into the retail sector, we are excited about the company's prospects. The demand in China is increasingly great for our catches."

The news hasn’t all been positive for Pingtan Marine. On 7 December, the U.S. State Department issued a notice that it had “revoked more than 15 visas for those complicit in [illegal, unreported, and unregulated] fishing who also have links to human trafficking, including associates of Pingtan Marine Enterprise Ltd.,” it said.

The notice, issued on Twitter, was sent by the Eastern and Pacific Affairs Bureau of the U.S. State Department. The company has made no announcement about the sanction and didn’t respond to SeafoodSource requests for comment.

Photo courtesy of Pingtan Marine