Jeonnam Province Expands Implementation of 'Public Interest Direct Payment System' in Fisheries Sector

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province announced on the 21st that it will expand the implementation of the ‘Public Interest Direct Payment System in the Fisheries Sector’ to enhance the public interest functions of the fisheries industry and fishing villages and to expand the income safety net for fishery workers.

In addition to the existing ‘Disadvantaged Area’ direct payment system, three new types of direct payments?‘Management Transfer,’ ‘Fisheries Resource Protection,’ and ‘Support for Eco-friendly Seafood Production’?will be added, making a total of four types of public interest direct payments.

The Disadvantaged Area direct payment system targets those residing on islands and engaged in fishing.

The payment amount has increased by 50,000 won from last year to 750,000 won. Of this, the recipient’s share is 600,000 won (80%), and the village community fund receives 150,000 won (20%).

The Management Transfer direct payment is paid to fishery workers aged 65 to under 75 who transfer fishery management to fishery workers aged 55 or younger.

Applicants must have maintained membership in the fishing village association for more than 10 years, and the support amount varies according to the average settlement income of the fishing village association over the past three years.

The Fisheries Resource Protection direct payment is given to fishery workers engaged in coastal fisheries. They must comply with obligations to protect fishery resources such as Total Allowable Catch (TAC), voluntary fishing moratoriums, and vessel reduction. The direct payment is divided into small-scale vessel direct payments and tonnage-proportional direct payments based on the total tonnage of vessels owned by the recipient.

The Support for Eco-friendly Seafood Production direct payment is divided into eco-friendly certification direct payments (organic seafood, antibiotic-free) provided when receiving eco-friendly certification and complying with Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), and compound feed direct payments provided when using compound feed instead of live feed that causes water pollution. Payments vary according to the unit price per area and target species.

To receive direct payment support, applicants must complete registration as a fishery management entity and complete two hours of public interest education. They must also fulfill certain obligations assigned to each direct payment type and apply at their local eup, myeon, or dong community service center.

Jeonnam Province plans to strengthen verification procedures by thoroughly checking related documents from the application stage to prevent fraudulent receipt of direct payments. Fraudulent recipients will be subject to surcharges up to five times the amount received and may be restricted from receiving direct payment support for up to three years.

Wi Gwanghwan, Director of the Marine Fisheries Bureau of Jeonnam Province, said, “Through the newly introduced public interest direct payment system in the fisheries sector this year, we will stabilize the income of fishery workers and create vibrant fishing villages. We will actively promote the program so that many fishery workers can benefit.”

Meanwhile, since 2012, Jeonnam Province has contributed to stabilizing fishery workers’ incomes by supporting a total of 40.7 billion won to 64,890 fishing households in the province through the Disadvantaged Area direct payment project.

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