Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Official Reelected as Chair of Western

and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission

Greater Contributions Expected for Sustainable Fisheries in Western and Central Pacific Oceans

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) of the Republic of Korea announced the unanimous decision made by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) at the 17^th Session of its annual meeting held online from the 9^th to 15^th December, 2020, to reelect Ms. Jung-re Riley Kim of International Cooperation Division of the MOF, as Chair of the Commission for her second term until at the end of the year 2022.

Established in 2004, the WCPFC, whose membership consists of 26 countries including Korea, the United States, Japan and Micronesia with an objective to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of highly migratory fish stocks in the western and central Pacific Oceans (WCPO), is known as one of the major international fisheries organizations as the Commission governs the biggest tuna fishing grounds in the world. As of 2019, approximately 55% of the world’s total tuna catch (2.99 million tons) came from the Convention Area of the fisheries organization, thus the waters hold great importance to the Korean tuna industry for their production as well.

Ms. Kim has since 2010 attended the meetings of the WCPFC as a member of the Korean delegation and at the 15^th annual meeting in 2018 was elected as the first Asian and youngest Chair in the history of the Commission.

Under her leadership, the WCPFC in accordance with its objective of conservation and rational use of the tuna resources in the WCPO successfully settled down disputes between the coastal states and the fishing ones, set regulations on fisheries including catch limits and adopted conservation and management measures during her first term from 2019 to 2020. When the sudden outbreak of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic caused limitations in meeting arrangement, Ms. Kim made a swift action through an online format to figure out the differences in national interests among the Member states, organized their positions on critical issues and guided them into reaching an agreement on decisions necessary for seamless management of the tuna and tuna-like species in the Convention Area. Highly satisfied with her work and contributions as Chair, the Commission at its 17^th annual meeting in 2020 unanimously agreed on another two years of her chairmanship.

Meanwhile, the 13,942 tons of Bigeye tuna catch limit for Korea were decided to remain unchanged for 2021.

Mr. Dong-sik Woo, Director General for International Cooperation Bureau of the MOF, said “Ms. Kim’s reelection as Chair for the Commission who has authority to manage the world’s largest tuna fishing grounds will surely go beyond further contributions to the international community to help the Republic of Korea enhance its capacities as a lead country for the global responsible fisheries”, adding “we will continue our efforts until sustainable fisheries are ensured all over the world.”