"It's Now the Sea"... Gyeonggi-do Cracks Down on Illegal Fishing Activities Following Rivers and Valleys

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province will conduct a special crackdown on illegal fishing activities, including the capture of juvenile fish.

Considering the closed season for blue crabs, the province announced on the 12th that from the 29th of this month until August 20th, a joint special crackdown on illegal fishing will be carried out in cooperation with the Civil Special Judicial Police and city/county authorities targeting five coastal cities/counties: Ansan, Hwaseong, Siheung, Gimpo, and Pyeongtaek.

Earlier, on the 7th, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung posted on his social media service (SNS) under the title "Now It's the Sea," stating, "Following the 'valleys,' we will return the 'sea' to the residents," and revealed plans to strengthen crackdowns on illegal fishing activities and monitor illegal marine waste dumping.

The province will permanently station fishery patrol vessels in areas such as the Gukhwado waters adjacent to Chungnam Province and deploy specialized enforcement personnel targeting docked fishing vessels at major ports and harbors.

The crackdown targets include ▲ capturing juvenile fish by violating prohibited sizes and closed seasons ▲ unauthorized fishing activities ▲ fishing operations that cross city/province boundaries ▲ manufacturing illegal fishing gear such as triple-layer gill nets (a tool made by overlapping three nets with different mesh sizes to catch juvenile fish) or possessing and selling illegally caught fish.

When illegal fishing is detected, offenders will face penalties under fisheries-related laws, including imprisonment of up to three years or fines up to 30 million won, as well as administrative sanctions such as cancellation of fishing permits and suspension of fishing activities.

The province plans to announce the special crackdown in advance to local fishermen and organizations for two weeks from the 15th to the 28th of this month and will promote the crackdown plan by posting banners around ports and harbors to prevent illegal fishing.

Lee Sang-woo, head of the Marine Fisheries Division of the province, said, "This crackdown aims to inform fishermen that the losses from illegal fishing outweigh the benefits and to promote fair fishing order," adding, "Since the crackdown is announced in advance, we ask all fishermen to comply with relevant laws and actively participate in creating a fair Gyeonggi Sea."

Meanwhile, the province has detected a total of 88 cases of illegal fishing, including unauthorized fishing, over the past three years and has taken judicial action.

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