Mokpo Coast Guard Seizes Foreign Fishing Vessel Fleeing After Illegal Fishing

Near Sinan Gageodo Waters, Chinese Fishing Boats Use 'Sweeping Nets'

Mokpo Maritime Police Station (Chief Kim Hae-cheol) captured a Chinese fishing vessel fleeing after refusing an order to stop near Gageodo waters at around 4:50 PM on the 5th.

Mokpo Coast Guard seized a foreign fishing vessel engaged in illegal fishing that fled after refusing an order to stop.
[Photo by Mokpo Coast Guard]

According to Mokpo Maritime Police, a patrol ship that received a complaint discovered Chinese fishing vessel A (345t, purse seine, registered in Fujian Province) illegally fishing with its Automatic Identification System (AIS) turned off near 46 nautical miles southwest of Gageodo, Sinan-gun, Jeollanam-do (inside the provisional waters control zone) and initiated enforcement action.

The purse seine, known as a "ssaksseuli eogu" (literally "sweep net"), is a large net approximately 250 meters long and 75 meters wide, with mesh size at the cod end of only 2 cm, capturing even juvenile fish, making it illegal to operate within our Exclusive Economic Zone.

The enforcement patrol used sirens and loudspeaker broadcasts to issue the order to stop, but the Chinese vessel refused and began to flee. Pursuit rights can be exercised if the order to stop is ignored more than three times.

After persistent pursuit, Mokpo Maritime Police captured the Chinese fishing vessel A about 105 km southwest of Gageodo (approximately 3 km outside the provisional waters control zone) and is currently escorting it to the dedicated pier in Mokpo.

A Mokpo Maritime Police official stated, "An investigation will be conducted for violation of Article 17-2 (Order to Stop) of the Exclusive Economic Zone Fisheries Sovereignty Act," adding, "We will continuously monitor foreign fishing vessels' activities and enforce strict crackdowns not only on unauthorized illegal fishing but also on violations of restriction conditions to establish orderly fishing operations."

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