General Public Faces 800,000 KRW Fine for Violating Closed Season and Prohibited Size Regulations

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] Even ordinary people must pay a fine of 800,000 KRW if they violate the closed season when catching fish.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 18th that it will publicly notify the amendment of subordinate statutes of the "Fisheries Resources Management Act," which includes strengthened measures to protect fishery resources, until the 30th of next month.

The amendment to the enforcement decree sets the criteria for imposing fines when non-fishers violate closed seasons or prohibited sizes, adjusts the closed seasons and prohibited sizes for 14 species requiring resource management, and establishes prohibited zones for set net fishing (around Yeosu Yeondo and Jindo Gwanmaedo) to protect juvenile fish. The amendment to the enforcement rules specifies exceptions to omitting the review by the Fisheries Resources Management Committee when setting the Total Allowable Catch (TAC).

Recently, as marine leisure activities by the public have increased, cases of ordinary people violating closed seasons and prohibited sizes by engaging in leisure activities such as skin scuba diving or catching fish with bare hands have increased, intensifying conflicts with fishers.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries amended the Fisheries Resources Management Act on March 24th to establish grounds for imposing fines of up to 1 million KRW on non-fishers who violate closed seasons or prohibited sizes starting from September 25th this year. Referring to similar legislative cases such as the Fishing Management and Promotion Act, the amendment to the enforcement decree sets the fine at 800,000 KRW.

The closed seasons and prohibited sizes for 14 species including squid will be adjusted. For the spear squid, the prohibited size will be changed from 12 cm to 15 cm, and the closed season (April 1?30) will also apply to the set net fishing industry. The prohibited weight for the giant octopus will be adjusted from 400 g to 600 g or less, and new closed seasons will be established for the common octopus (May 1?June 15) and Spanish mackerel (May 1?31). For the black porgy, both the prohibited size (25 cm) and closed season (May 1?31) will be newly established, while the closed season for the striped beakfish will be removed.

The Ministry plans to review additional amendments after three years through monitoring of squid and giant octopus, and will establish a "Fisheries Resource Traffic Light System" that informs consumers of ecological information by species using traffic light colors such as green, yellow, and red, encouraging consumer participation in resource management.

Additionally, to protect juvenile hairtail, the Ministry plans to prohibit coastal set net fishing for a certain period in the areas around Yeosu Yeondo and Jindo Gwanmaedo (approximately 475 km²), which are major spawning and growth grounds. This measure reflects a proposal from the coastal set net fishers' association reviewed and adopted by the Ministry.

Furthermore, in urgent cases such as rapid resource depletion, the amendment allows setting the TAC without the review of the Fisheries Resources Management Committee. This amendment is a follow-up measure to the "Fisheries Innovation 2030" announced in February last year.

Choi Yong-seok, Director of Fisheries Resources Policy at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said, "The amendment of subordinate statutes of the Fisheries Resources Management Act lays the foundation to restore fishery resources to over 4 million tons by 2022," and added, "We hope that all our citizens, including fishers and anglers, actively participate in resource management efforts for sustainable fisheries."

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