Gyeonggi-do Cracks Down on 'Illegal Fishing' to Protect Fish Resources During Spring Spawning Season

Illegal Fishing Enforcement

Gyeonggi Province will conduct joint crackdowns on illegal fishing both on land and at sea in cooperation with related organizations such as the provincial government, city and county governments, and the Coast Guard until the 3rd of next month to protect fishery resources during the spring spawning season.

First, the province will deploy three fishery patrol vessels to the coastal waters of Gyeonggi Province to crack down on unauthorized fishing, illegal capture of glass eels, fishing using unapproved double or more layered nets, capturing juvenile fish, use and storage of illegal fishing gear, and fishing by leisure boats. Additionally, six fishery resource protection management vessels will be mobilized to carry out activities to prevent illegal fishing and promote awareness.

Furthermore, inland water crackdowns will focus on major rivers and lakes within the province, including the Namhan River, Bukhan River, Imjin River, Tando Lake, Namyang Lake, and Hwaseong Lake. The main crackdown targets include unlicensed fishing, fishing outside licensed, permitted, or reported fishing, violations of prohibited capture or harvesting periods and size limits, and the capture or harvesting of aquatic flora and fauna using motorboats, scuba gear, or cast nets.

The province will also simultaneously crack down on illegal consignment sales of illegally caught fish and illegal fishing by non-fishermen at major ports, fishing harbors, fish markets, and seafood sales venues.

For illegal fishing activities detected during this joint crackdown, the province will impose punishments along with administrative measures such as cancellation of fishing licenses and suspension of fishing activities.

Kim Seong-gon, Director of the Marine Fisheries Division of the province, stated, "We hope that this joint crackdown with related organizations will establish a sound fishing order, and we will also carry out promotional and guidance activities to help fishermen voluntarily establish orderly fishing practices."

Meanwhile, last year during the spring (spawning season) and autumn (growth season), the province conducted crackdowns on illegal fishing, detecting a total of 46 cases including unauthorized fishing, and imposed judicial and administrative penalties along with fines.

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