Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Abolishes and Reduces Four Charges Including Fisheries Resource Creation Fee

On the 31st, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries decided to abolish three fees, including the Fisheries Resource Creation Fee, and reduce the amount of the Oil Spill Response Fee.

The government, in a joint meeting of related ministries held on the 27th during the 23rd Emergency Economic and Livelihood Meeting, announced a plan to streamline 32 fees to reduce the burden on citizens and promote corporate economic activities. Among these, four fees pertain to the marine and fisheries sector.

The Fisheries Resource Creation Fee, which was collected from fishers at the time of licensing or permitting for fishing or aquaculture, will be abolished to reduce the burden on small-scale fishers. The Deep Sea Water Usage Fee will also be abolished. For the Fisheries Resource Creation Fee, the rate was KRW 100,000 per hectare (ha, 10,000㎡) for shellfish and fish aquaculture, and KRW 5,000,000 per hectare for land-based tank seawater aquaculture.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will also abolish the Passenger Ship Operation Manager Cost Burden Fee to reduce costs for small shipping companies. Previously, passenger transport operators paid 2.9% of passenger fares to cover the operating costs of the Korea Maritime Transportation Safety Authority’s operation managers.

The amount of the Oil Spill Response Fee will be lowered to a reasonable level. Considering the scale of oil spill response projects, the fee for domestic vessels will be reduced by 50% from the current rate, and for foreign vessels by 10%. The Ministry plans to amend the Enforcement Decree of the Marine Environment Management Act to implement the reduction of the Oil Spill Response Fee starting July this year. Related legal amendments will be pursued to abolish the Fisheries Resource Creation Fee and the other three fees by January next year.

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