- Bill on the Sustainable Coastal Fishing Development Act passed in November 28th Cabinet meeting -

 The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (Minister Cho Seung Hwan) announced that a bill on the Sustainable Coastal Fishing Development Act, which aims to eradicate illegal fishing in nearshore waters and enforce systematic management of fishery resources, was passed during the November 28th (Tuesday) Cabinet meeting and is expected to be tabled to the National Assembly within the year.

 The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to decisively abolish or relax a number of complicated existing regulations, such as restrictions on fishing seasons, zones, gear, and methods, that were previously operated based on relevant fisheries laws. In addition, the Ministry plans to transform the fisheries management system to improve convenience for fishermen and ensure effective management of fishery resources.

 The government prepared the Plan for Advancing Coastal Fishing, which outlines the aforementioned proposals, and presented it to the tri-party cooperative meeting between the public, political parties, and the government on August 2nd, attended by the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives and fishing sector stakeholders. The bill on the Sustainable Coastal Fishing Development Act, passed by a resolution of the Cabinet, is intended to lay the legal foundation for implementing the plans for advancing coastal fishing.

 The bill includes specific measures to establish efficient fisheries management centered on total catch. First, it mandates all nearshore fishing vessels to operate a global positioning system and report their catch. In addition, all coastal fishing vessel owners are required to offboard fish at designated landing sites, report the actual catch that is offboarded, obtain catch certificates, and present catch certificates to sell fish products to distributors.

 Other bills were also passed to amend existing fisheries-related laws, including the Fisheries Act, the Fishing Vessel Act, and the Fishery Resources Management Act, and remove any duplicative regulations on catch performance and mandatory use of positioning devices that were previously enforced in accordance with such laws.