Reducing Coastal Fishing Vessels... Next Year, 10 Industries and 105 Vessels to be Cut Back

Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Announces 2021 Nearshore Fishing Vessel Reduction Implementation Plan

Voluntary Reduction Applications Accepted Until the 10th of Next Month… 'Compulsory Reduction' if Target Not Met
Support of 90% of Average Income Over 3 Years Through Individual Appraisals

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 9th that it has established the '2021 Nearshore Fishing Vessel Reduction Implementation Plan,' which includes reducing 105 vessels across 10 nearshore fishing sectors next year, and will accept voluntary reduction applications from the 11th until December 10th.

Korea's coastal fisheries are facing many difficulties due to changes in the marine environment and depletion of fishery resources. The coastal fish catch, which was around 910,000 tons in 2016, showed some recovery to 1,010,000 tons in 2018 but dropped back to 910,000 tons in 2019. In particular, the delay in concluding the Korea-Japan fisheries negotiations has resulted in a four-year suspension of fishing in Japanese waters, causing significant difficulties for sectors highly dependent on fishing in those waters.

In response, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced the '2nd Basic Plan for Structural Improvement of Coastal Fisheries (2019?2023),' aiming to create a sustainable fishery production base by reducing 300 nearshore vessels and 1,000 coastal vessels over five years from 2019 to 2023. Since then, annual nearshore vessel reduction plans have been established, reducing 13 vessels in 2 sectors in 2019 and 53 vessels in 7 sectors in 2020, totaling 66 vessels across 9 sectors so far, achieving 21% of the target.

The 2021 nearshore vessel reduction target includes 105 vessels across 10 sectors. These sectors were selected based on the impact of the delayed Korea-Japan fisheries negotiations affecting nearshore longline fishing and others, the need for recovery of fishery resources such as squid, and the need to alleviate fishery conflicts.

The Ministry will first accept voluntary applications from fishers wishing to reduce vessels. If there are no applicants or if the reduction target is not met, the Ministry plans to select reduction candidates by authority in the first half of 2021 based on the number and severity of violations of fishery-related laws, vessel age, and vessel size (tonnage and horsepower), according to the 'Coastal Fisheries Structural Improvement Act.'

Those selected for reduction will receive business closure support funds. Considering the previous lack of voluntary participation due to insufficient support funds, from 2021, voluntary reduction candidates will be supported with 90% of their average income over three years based on individual appraisals rather than uniform standard prices by fishery type and tonnage, unifying the support criteria with compulsory reduction. However, for compulsory reduction candidates, support will be reduced by up to 70% depending on the number of suspension days due to illegal fishing. Additionally, all reduction candidates will receive 100% support for appraisal values of hulls, engines, and fishing gear, and living stabilization funds for crew members of reduced vessels will be provided for up to six months.

Choi Yong-seok, Director of Fisheries Resources Policy at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said, "With a significant increase in the 2021 government budget for vessel reduction (from 75.2 billion to 125.4 billion KRW), we expect more effective large-scale reductions focusing on nearshore vessels with high fishing intensity. We will strengthen a sustainable fishery production base through comprehensive efforts including vessel reduction, fishing moratorium implementation, and fishery resource restoration projects, while also enhancing the management stability of fishers."

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