Jeju Coast Guard Seizes Chinese Fishing Vessel for Illegal Fishing near Chagwido Sea

Published 16 Nov.2021 13:59(KST)

[Jeju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Jeongpil] A Chinese fishing vessel suspected of illegal fishing was seized by the Coast Guard in the waters southwest of Chagwido, Jeju City.

According to the Jeju Maritime Police Station on the 16th, at around 2:10 a.m. that day, a Chinese fishing vessel A suspected of illegal fishing was discovered about 128 km southwest of Chagwido, Jeju City, and a 3000-ton patrol ship of the Jeju Coast Guard, which was patrolling the nearby waters, was dispatched.

At around 2:30 a.m., two high-speed boats with the Maritime Special Task Force on board ordered vessel A, which was moving, to stop, and at around 3:20 a.m., a maritime inspection was conducted.

As a result of the maritime inspection of the Chinese fishing vessel A, it was confirmed that from around 9 a.m. on the 11th, about 178 km northwest of Chagwido, using a net 7.4 km in length with an average mesh size of 44 mm, a total of 825 kg of catch including threadfin fish was caught over four times in five days until the previous day.

It was also confirmed that four additional crew members beyond those authorized by the Chinese government at the time of departure were on board to increase the catch volume.

Accordingly, at around 4:30 a.m., the Jeju Coast Guard seized vessel A about 120 km southwest of Chagwido, Jeju City, on suspicion of violating Article 10 (Restrictions or Conditions on Permission, etc.) of the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf Fisheries Act, and is investigating the circumstances of illegal fishing with the captain and others on site.

A Jeju Coast Guard official said, “We will further strengthen maritime inspections to intensively crack down on various illegal activities such as mesh size violations that continue to occur on foreign fishing vessels operating with permission from our country,” and added, “We will do our best to protect our maritime sovereignty and fishery resources from all kinds of illegal activities.”