Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Establishes Basis for Pilot Project to Ease Fisheries Regulations Based on TAC

Partial Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Fisheries Act Passed at the Cabinet Meeting

[Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] Legal grounds have been established for a pilot project that allows some relaxation of existing fishing regulations (gear and methods) if fishermen voluntarily participate in the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) system.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 7th that the partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Fisheries Act containing this content was passed at the Cabinet meeting.

The TAC-centered resource management-type fishery structure is a shift in policy from previous production support to resource management, aimed at restoring the stock of coastal fisheries facing a crisis due to declining marine resources. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has announced this as one of the core tasks of the "Fisheries Innovation 2030 Plan," a mid- to long-term roadmap for the future growth industry and structural improvement of fisheries.

This amendment includes provisions to promote pilot projects to facilitate the smooth transition of coastal fisheries to a resource management-type fishery structure and improvements to the system replacing administrative sanctions (fishery suspension) with fines to strengthen the prevention of illegal fishing.

First, legal grounds have been established for a pilot project that allows some relaxation of existing fishing regulations if fishermen voluntarily accept the TAC and monitoring system. The amendment to the Enforcement Decree serves as the basis for two organizations selected in last year's pilot project contest to be subject to different application of some fishing regulations (three cases) for a certain period, on the condition of strict implementation of TAC and management and supervision systems.

Previously, administrative sanctions of fishery suspension could be replaced by fines to support fishermen's unavoidable livelihoods. However, to establish a TAC-led resource management fishery system, from now on, if administrative sanctions (fishery suspension) are imposed for violations such as refusal, obstruction, or avoidance of catch surveys, they will be excluded from the cases where fines can replace the sanctions.

In addition, the amendment established grounds for installing bycatch reduction devices to protect marine mammals and improved regulations related to the prohibition of snow crab fishing and traps for catching Chinese mitten crabs.

Choi Yong-seok, Director of Fisheries Resource Policy at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said, "We expect that this amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Fisheries Act will promote the restructuring toward a TAC-centered fishery management system," and added, "We will continue to devise policies for improving the structure of coastal fisheries and efficient management of marine resources."

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