Toughen bail rules for illegal fishing In Korea

Toughen bail rules for illegal fishing In Korea

Korea is seeking to toughen bail measures for illegal fishing as a part of efforts to root out growing violent behavior by Chinese fishermen in its waters, a government official said, Thursday.
“There have been growing calls to sharply increase bail money to root out violence committed against Korean officials, given that resistance from Chinese illegal trawlers is becoming fiercer,” the official of the Korea Maritime Institute (KMI) said.

Under the Korea-China Fisheries Agreement, authorities are required to immediately release crewmembers arrested for unlawful fishing once they pay bail.
The KMI points out that illegal fishing by Chinese fishermen has been rampant as the authorities only impose a light penalty, which in turn provides greater economic gains for the risk.

Currently, Korea can only impose a maximum bail of 50 million won ($44,600) for the release of an illegal trawler.
The state-run think tank noted that illegal fishing has been significantly deterred in waters in the United States, Russia, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, which impose much heavier fees.

Four Korean Coast Guard officers were injured as they tried to arrest the crew of a 63-ton Chinese fishing boat illegally fishing in waters 120 kilometers off Eocheong Island in the West Sea last December.
The Chinese fishermen attacked the Korean officers with iron pipes and clubs.

The fishermen, however, were freed and returned home without punishment.
In 2008, a Korean Coast Guard officer was assaulted and drowned while trying to inspect a Chinese boat operating illegally in Korean waters.
Korea apprehended more than 738 fishermen in its exclusive economic zone between 2006 and 2010.

Meanwhile, the government announced a plan to invest 1.02 trillion won in the next five years to increase the country's total fisheries haul from coastal waters to 1.5 million tons.
The measure is aimed at improving earnings for fishermen, who have been hurt by illegal fishing and a flood of cheap imports.
"South Korea hauled in a record 1.75 million tons of fish in 1980, but numbers started to fall in the following years due to overfishing," said Son Jae-hak, an official at the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

He said the ministry is looking into the possibility of introducing the individual transferable quota (ITQ) system for fishermen and fishing vessels that could better reflect demand.
The ITQ system allows fishermen and vessels to trade fishing rights with each other.


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