Fisher Welfare Bus to Visit Fishing Villages Again This Year to Improve Fishermen's Quality of Life

 

-Fisher Welfare Bus pilot project for 200 islands, 50 fishing villages, and 45 regional fisheries cooperatives

 

-Providing medical (contactless and face-to-face), living (beauty and bathing), and administrative (labor affairs and tax) services to island and fishing villages

 

 The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF; Minister Kang Do-hyung) announced that it will provide the Fisher Welfare Bus service this year as well. As a project that provides medical, living, and administrative services to fishermen on islands and in fishing villages, Fisher Welfare Bus was found to be the most necessary service for improving the quality of life of fishers.

 

 MOF launched the Fisher Welfare Bus pilot project for the first time last year. Additionally, to eliminate gaps in medical services for fishers in island regions, the ministry implemented the Remote Island Doctor program in the latter half of the year, providing telemedicine services to fishers on 101 islands. Remote medical treatment services reduced the average treatment times and costs and significantly improved convenience and satisfaction among fishers.

 

 MOF plans to expand the program and tailor each project to the geographical characteristics of islands and fishing villages.

 

 Since island regions have limited access to urban welfare services, the program will provide telemedicine services and daily living services such as haircuts and bathing to approximately 200 islands.

 

 For fishing villages, they will provide visiting medical services to around 100 fishing communities to manage occupational diseases commonly affecting fishers such as musculoskeletal disorders. The projects will provide labor and tax consulting services to 45 unit fisheries cooperatives to help solve administrative problems for fishers experiencing difficulties in management.

 

 “Fishers’ quality of life is a significant factor affecting the sustainability of the fishing industry and fishing villages. In the future, through the Fisher Welfare Bus program, we will pursue welfare policies more closely to improve the quality of life of our fishers including health management as well as living and administrative welfare conditions,” Minister Kang Do-hyung said.