Korea Coast Guard Detects Four Illegal Fishing Vessels in North Pacific: "First Case on the High Seas"

The Korea Coast Guard announced on August 6 that, for the first time in the country, it had detected illegal fishing by foreign vessels on the high seas.

According to the Coast Guard, the 3016 ship belonging to the East Sea Coast Guard, which was dispatched on July 21 as a member state of the North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC), returned to port on this day after completing its mission to monitor illegal fishing and strengthen international cooperation.

During its patrol, the 3016 ship used vessel location information provided by the NPFC to board and inspect five foreign distant-water fishing vessels. As a result, it detected inadequate catch records and failure to properly classify and store catches on four of the vessels, and notified the fisheries authorities of the respective countries.

The NPFC Secretariat evaluated the Coast Guard's enforcement activities as a model case for implementing conservation and management measures on the high seas of the North Pacific and expressed its appreciation.

The 3016 ship belonging to the East Sea Coast Guard approached a foreign vessel in the high seas of the North Pacific on the morning of the 25th of last month to conduct an onboard inspection. Korea Coast Guard

In addition to its patrol mission, the 3016 ship sailed 3,583 nautical miles over 17 days, carrying out various tasks such as investigating fishing activities in the North Pacific, collecting seawater samples, and inspecting communication systems. Notably, while docked at Yokohama Port in Japan, the crew held an open ship event, inviting around 40 local Korean residents.

Korea Coast Guard Commissioner Kim Yongjin stated, "This patrol was a significant overseas deployment for the sustainability of marine resources and for fulfilling our responsibilities to the international community," adding, "We will continue to strengthen our capabilities for distant-water missions."

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