Coral poaching by Chinese fishing boats in waters around the Ogasawara Islands has been rapidly increasing.

Earlier this month, nearly 50 such vessels were spotted in the area, where they were believed to be searching for valuable red coral and other "jewelry coral" that inhabit the deep sea. Catches of such jewelry coral are regulated in China.

The Japan Coast Guard has been cracking down on coral poaching by Chinese fishing boats, some of which have entered Japanese territorial waters or Japan's exclusive economic zone.

Few such ships were spotted on ocean waters earlier this year, according to the JCG. But since September, the number of Chinese fishing boats in such areas has surged, with confirmed sightings of at least 46 such vessels as of Oct. 13.

The boats are believed to have started coming because the seas are calm at this time.

The coral live 100 meters or more below the sea surface and are commonly used in jewelry in China. Red coral is traded for 6 million yen (S$70,823) per kilogram.

According to the JCG, Chinese fishing boats have been poaching coral mainly in the East China Sea near Okinawa Prefecture.

It is possible that they moved to waters around the Ogasawara Islands because law enforcement in the waters near Okinawa Prefecture was strengthened, the JCG said.

The JCG has stepped up security by introducing several large patrol vessels. On Oct. 5, it arrested the captain of a Chinese fishing boat that entered Japan's territorial waters, which extend up to 22 kilometers from the coastal and territorial lands of Japan, on suspicion of violating the law on regulation of fishing operation by foreign nationals.

On Oct. 16, another Chinese captain was arrested for operating a vessel within Japan's exclusive economic zone, an area stretching about 370 kilometers from Japan's shoreline.

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China's coral poaching rises