Implementation of Public Interest Direct Payment System in Fisheries Sector from March Next Year... Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Establish Payment Criteria and Scale by the End of This Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Jusangdon] The public interest direct payment system in the fisheries sector, which pays subsidies to fishermen who comply with management transfer, fishery resource protection, and support for eco-friendly seafood production to strengthen the public interest functions of the fisheries and fishing village sectors, has passed the Cabinet meeting.

On the 19th, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced that the "Act on the Implementation of Fisheries Direct Payment System" was passed at the Cabinet meeting on the 19th after deliberation by the National Assembly plenary session.

Although the fisheries and fishing village sectors perform various public interest functions such as supplying safe seafood to the public and protecting fishery resources, there have been continuous criticisms that government policies have not been well linked. Accordingly, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries restructured the existing direct payment system for disadvantaged areas, which paid subsidies to regions with poor living conditions such as islands and border areas, into a fisheries public interest direct payment system by adding three new direct payment systems: management transfer, fishery resource protection, and eco-friendly seafood production support, and established the legal basis for implementation through the revision of the law.

The existing direct payment system for disadvantaged areas pays 700,000 KRW to fishermen (on a household basis) residing in disadvantaged areas who have annual seafood sales of 1.2 million KRW or more or have more than 60 days of fishing activity annually. In addition, the management transfer direct payment system pays subsidies to fishermen who transfer their fishing cooperative membership to stabilize the income of elderly fishermen and promote the influx of young successor fishermen into fishing villages; the fishery resource protection direct payment system pays subsidies when fishermen in the fishing vessel sector fulfill strengthened resource protection obligations such as total allowable catch allocation and fishing moratorium; and the eco-friendly seafood production support direct payment system pays subsidies when aquaculture fishermen receive eco-friendly certification or practice eco-friendly aquaculture such as using compound feed. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to finalize detailed support criteria and scale by the end of the year through budget consultations with the Ministry of Economy and Finance and revisions of subordinate regulations.

Along with this, the revised Fisheries and Fishing Village Public Interest Direct Payment Act requires fishermen to complete education for public interest promotion and comply with obligations stipulated in fishery-related laws to receive direct payments, thereby encouraging voluntary public interest contributions by fishermen.

The fisheries public interest direct payment system will be implemented from March 1 next year according to the revised Fisheries and Fishing Village Public Interest Direct Payment Act's supplementary provisions.

Um Gidu, Director of Fisheries Policy at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said, "The introduction of the fisheries public interest direct payment system will be an opportunity to change the policy paradigm of fisheries and fishing villages," adding, "We hope that the public interest direct payment system will serve as a stepping stone for sustainable fisheries through income stabilization of fishermen as well as voluntary public interest activities."

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