Last Year, Decrease in 'Illegal Fishing' Foreign Vessels... West Sea Catch Volume Increases by 52%

115 Vessels Seized, Illegal Fishing Rate Decreases by 3.4%p Compared to Last Year

The Coast Guard is cracking down on foreign fishing vessels engaged in illegal fishing that are moored in groups.
[Photo by Korea Coast Guard]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] It has been revealed that the number of foreign fishing vessels illegally operating in Korean waters has decreased, and fish catches in the West Sea have increased.

According to the Korea Coast Guard on the 15th, the average number of foreign fishing vessels operating daily in Korean waters last year was 196, similar to 193 vessels the previous year, but the illegal fishing rate dropped from 13.3% to 9.9%.

The illegal fishing rate is calculated by dividing the number of vessels seized by the Coast Guard during inspections and searches of foreign fishing vessels; a lower rate indicates less illegal fishing activity.

Last year, the Coast Guard inspected 1,161 foreign vessels and seized 115 vessels (9.9%) engaged in illegal fishing. This is a 3.4 percentage point decrease from 136 vessels (13.3%) in 2018. The number of vessels seized for illegal fishing has been decreasing annually, with 248 vessels (21.2%) in 2016 and 160 vessels (15.5%) in 2017.

In the West Sea Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the average daily number of foreign fishing vessels operating was 214 in 2016, similar to 196 vessels last year, but the illegal fishing rate decreased by more than 10 percentage points.

In the first half of last year, illegal foreign vessels near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea were problematic due to irregular fishing methods such as mothership and daughter ship operations using small high-speed boats, and armored vessels with wheelhouses sealed with steel plates.

In response, the Coast Guard deployed additional medium-sized vessels to the Yeonpyeongdo area, conducted nighttime ambush operations using special maneuver boats, and introduced new equipment such as metal circular saws, seizing 11 illegal foreign vessels in the West Sea NLL area alone.

Additionally, in the West Sea EEZ, inspections and searches were intensified, including special crackdowns around the fishing moratorium periods for Chinese gillnet and trap net vessels.

Through these efforts, vessels that complied with the law were encouraged to continue lawful fishing by providing promotional items such as bottled water, while illegal fishing vessels were strictly cracked down on, resulting in a total of 104 vessels seized last year.

For Chinese vessels operating in North Korean and Russian waters, patrol vessels were deployed along the route from the West Sea through the South Sea to the East Sea, providing continuous surveillance to protect the safe fishing operations of Korean fishermen.

The Coast Guard is inspecting and searching foreign vessels engaged in illegal fishing.
[Photo by Korea Coast Guard]

Diplomatic efforts also played a significant role in reducing the illegal fishing rate.

Continuous Korea-China Fisheries Cooperation Meetings were held together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and notably, last year marked the first Korea-China Coast Guard Director-level working meeting, with a total of seven diplomatic meetings conducted.

These meetings facilitated the sharing of the latest information, including new types of illegal fishing cases, and the Chinese government pledged to strengthen its own enforcement and actively cooperate with the Korean Coast Guard.

The decrease in illegal fishing rates appears to have somewhat contributed to the increase in fish catches in the West Sea.

According to the National Institute of Fisheries Science, as of the end of November last year, the total catch in the West Sea region (Incheon, Gyeonggi, Chungcheong, and Jeolla provinces) was 461,289 tons, an increase of 74,701 tons (19.3%) compared to the previous year.

In particular, six species with good production in the West Sea, including anchovy, squid, and yellow croaker, accounted for a total catch of 61,976 tons last year, more than 50% higher than the previous year's 40,813 tons.

The Coast Guard plans to effectively respond to increasingly sophisticated illegal fishing methods by foreign vessels by promoting the construction of dedicated vessels optimized for foreign vessel enforcement, and equipping newly built 3,000-ton large vessels with advanced water cannons to strengthen enforcement capabilities.

A Korea Coast Guard official stated, "We will continue to develop response strategies against illegal fishing and further expand cooperation with China to firmly protect our maritime sovereignty and create a prosperous sea for fishermen."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.