Chinese Fishing Vessels Appearing 100 Times Daily in Our Seas... Coast Guard Strengthens Crackdown with Direct Arrests

Switch from Eviction-Focused Operations to Direct Arrests
Eradicate Illegal Fishing by Foreign Vessels... Increase Patrols, Special Crackdowns

The number of illegal Chinese fishing vessels operating near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea has surged, prompting the Korea Coast Guard to strengthen crackdowns.

According to the Coast Guard on the 31st, the average daily number of illegal Chinese fishing vessels appearing in the West Sea NLL area this year is 100, which is three times the approximately 30 vessels recorded in 2018 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

An illegal Chinese fishing vessel seized in the waters off Gageodo Island last April.
[Photo by Korea Coast Guard]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Coast Guard primarily focused on expulsion operations to prevent infections, but recently, they have shifted their enforcement policy toward actively seizing vessels.

Accordingly, the Coast Guard is conducting proactive special crackdowns by deploying additional patrol ships and operating mobile task forces throughout the southwestern sea areas to eradicate illegal foreign fishing vessels.

The Coast Guard shares information with related agencies such as the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Navy, and conducts joint patrols and crackdowns. As of the end of November this year, they have seized 50 illegal Chinese fishing vessels, which is more than a 50% increase compared to the 33 vessels seized last year.

Among them, the Jeju Regional Coast Guard has carried out continuous blockade operations, including interception and expulsion, against illegal Chinese fishing vessels targeting fishery resources in the Jeju waters this year by deploying patrol ships and aircraft. They have blocked the entry of unauthorized Chinese fishing vessels 203 times and carried out 160 expulsion measures.

Unmanned helicopters and drones have been deployed to locate Chinese fishing vessels, and since the resumption of Chinese trawl (ta-mang) fishing in October, satellite image analysis data has been utilized to monitor the distribution and movement of Chinese vessels for enforcement purposes.

This year, the Jeju Coast Guard has seized 14 illegal Chinese fishing vessels (2 unauthorized, 1 violating order to stop fishing, 11 violating restriction conditions).

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a meeting of fisheries order officers chaired by Kang Young-shin, Director of the Northeast Asia Bureau, on the 21st, stating that they will continue communication with China to prevent illegal fishing by Chinese vessels in Korean waters. They added, "Under close cooperation with local diplomatic missions and related agencies, we will continue to make active efforts to fundamentally resolve the issue of illegal fishing."

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