Last Year Fishery Production Increased by 1.9%... Fishery Production Value Reaches Record High of 9.2 Trillion Won

Last year, fishery production volume increased by 1.9%, and fishery production value also rose, reaching an all-time high. Overall, the production of anchovies and sardines in coastal waters increased, but flatfish and squid species decreased. In particular, due to the increase in imported eel, the production volume of freshwater fisheries, including eel, decreased by 12%.

According to the '2023 Fishery Production Trend Survey Results (Provisional)' announced by Statistics Korea on the 23rd, last year's fishery production volume was 3.678 million tons, an increase of 68,000 tons (1.9%) compared to the previous year (3.61 million tons).

A fisherman in Dadaepo, Busan, is starting his day by repairing the aquaculture nets alongside the vigorously rising sun.
Photo by Kang Jin-hyung, Busan aymsdream@

The increase in fish schools and resource volume in coastal waters led to increased catches of anchovies, sardines, red snow crabs, and blue crabs, resulting in a 67,000-ton increase in coastal fishery production volume. Distant-water fisheries also increased by 11,000 tons (2.7%) due to higher catches of yellowfin tuna, pollock, and Antarctic krill.

On the other hand, in the marine aquaculture sector, production volume decreased by 5,000 tons (-0.2%) due to poor breeding conditions and delayed harvesting, affecting flatfish, whiteleg shrimp, and seaweed. Freshwater fisheries saw a 6,000-ton (-12.1%) decrease in production volume due to reduced demand and sluggish consumption, impacting eel, catfish, and carp species. Lee Jeong-hyun, head of the Agriculture and Fisheries Trends Division at Statistics Korea, explained, "While domestic prices have risen, the increase in imported eel volume has led to a decrease in production volume."

Fishery production value reached 9.2884 trillion KRW, a 0.4% increase from the previous year (9.2494 trillion KRW), marking an all-time high. Although fishery production volume fluctuates, production value has been increasing annually. In particular, coastal fisheries saw an 8.0% increase due to both higher catch volumes and price rises.

Conversely, marine aquaculture production value decreased by 7.3% due to price declines, and distant-water fisheries saw a 2.4% decrease in production value despite increased production volume, owing to reduced catches of high-priced species. Freshwater fisheries also declined by 1.4% due to weak consumption.

Excluding distant-water fisheries, domestic fishery production volume was 3.268 million tons, a 1.8% increase from the previous year (3.211 million tons). By major cities and provinces, Jeollanam-do, which accounts for the largest share of domestic total production, increased by 1.8%, followed by Gyeongsangnam-do with a 4.6% increase. Busan, the third largest in production volume share, also increased by 8.5%. In contrast, Gyeongsangbuk-do decreased by 5.5%, Jeju by 1.0%, Jeollabuk-do by 17.2%, and Gangwon-do by 21.7%.

By species, anchovy production increased by 11.8% to 148,000 tons compared to 132,000 tons the previous year, and sardine production surged by 299.2% to 48,000 tons from 12,000 tons. Spanish mackerel species also increased by 28.2% to 46,000 tons from 36,000 tons.

Conversely, flatfish species decreased by 10% to 44,000 tons from 49,000 tons, spear squid decreased by 36.2% to 23,000 tons from 37,000 tons, and krill shrimp species decreased by 46.1% to 13,000 tons from 25,000 tons.

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