- Illegal Chinese stow net gear salvaged and destroyed, catch released -

 

 

 The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (Minister Cho Seung Hwan) and the Korea Coast Guard (Commissioner General Kim Jong-Uk) announced that they have discovered and removed by force illegal “Chinese stow net* fishing gear” installed in Korea’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) about 150km southwest of Chagwido Island, Jeju.

 

 * Long sack-like nets are anchored to a fixed location to catch fish that are swept in by currents

 

 

 Chinese stow nets are massive fishing nets approximately 300 to 500m long and 70m wide, known as “over-exploiters” since they capture even the smallest of fish with a mesh size of roughly 2cm at the end of the collecting net. Since this fishing gear negatively impacts fisheries resources, it is not authorized in Korea’s EEZ.

 

 

 To maintain strong control over such Chinese stow net operations, Korea and China established an agreement in 2016 whereby the Korean government is to tear down by force any Chinese stow net gear found in Korean waters and to inform the Chinese government, which shall crack down on the relevant Chinese vessels.

 

 

 On the morning of October 30th, the Korea Coast Guard first discovered the Chinese stow net gear while patrolling nearby and notified the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The Ministry urgently dispatched a fisheries supervision vessel to the scene, to monitor and prevent Chinese vessels from retrieving the fishing gear, and specialized collection vessels immediately began removal of the net. The Ministry plans to request the Chinese authorities to prevent any repeat cases once it has determined the exact scale of the illegal operations after completion of removal.

 

 

 Production of the illegal Chinese stow nets costs roughly KRW 60 million for a single unit. With an estimated average catch of 1 to 3 tons of yellow corvina per unit, the forced dismantling of each unit is expected to incur an economic loss of roughly KRW 100 million to the Chinese vessels. The catch is being released at the same time as the fishing gear is removed.

 

 

 While illegal Chinese stow nets were temporarily removed in the past from locations where they were in high concentrations, the Ministry plans to deploy special collection vessels in Korea’s EEZ for continued monitoring and engage in immediate removal of any illegal nets identified. This is expected to improve effectiveness of efforts to prevent illegal fishing operations by Chinese vessels and yield in greater economic benefits for Korea.