Opinions of fishers must be heard when using public waters

Cases of Occupation and Use of Public Waters

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Going forward, the Public Waters Management Authority must gather opinions from stakeholders such as fishermen in advance for the approval of public waters occupation and use that are expected to affect fisheries and the environment.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced that the revised "Act on the Management and Reclamation of Public Waters" along with its enforcement decree and enforcement rules will be implemented starting from the 5th.

Public waters such as seas, seashores, and rivers are common resources, so separate permission must be obtained to occupy or use them. Recently, the demand for occupying and using public waters has continuously increased and diversified, including offshore wind power facilities and tourism facilities utilizing beaches.

Although cases of large-scale facilities such as power generation facilities occupying and using public waters for long periods have increased, there was no institutional basis to collect opinions from existing stakeholders in advance, leading to increased social conflicts caused by the occupation and use of public waters.

According to the enforcement of the revised law, when the Public Waters Management Authority receives an application for occupation and use permission, if the application is expected to affect marine environment, fishery resources, or natural landscape protection, the related information must be announced in the official gazette or public bulletin and on the internet homepage. Additionally, a separate opinion survey must be conducted for fishermen who are expected to suffer damages from the occupation and use permission.

Hwang Junsung, Director of Marine Spatial Policy at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said, “To achieve the purpose of the law revision aimed at preventing damages to stakeholders caused by the occupation and use of public waters, we will cooperate with each Public Waters Management Authority to support the smooth operation of the system.”

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