- Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, implementing actions to revitalize fishing villages, including an improved aquaculture licensing system, job creation, and extended housing support -

 

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has announced plans to implement the ‘Fishing Village Revitalization Plan’ consisting of measures to increase population, create jobs, and improve quality of life to revive fishing villages that are experiencing reduced vitality from decreased fishing populations and aging.

 

According to the Statistics Korea reports, the domestic fishing population in 2020 totaled 105,000, decreasing by 13.2% from 121,000 in 2019. The number of fishing households also fell to 44,000 in 2020, a 14.5% decrease from 51,000 in 2019. In particular, the fishing village aging ratio (the ratio of the population aged 65 or older among the total population) stood at 36.2%, more than double the national average of 16.4%. These statistics substantiate concerns over the diminishing fishing villages due to reduced population and aging.

 

To that end, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has prepared the “Fishing Village Revitalization Plan” to prevent the collapse of fishing villages due to decreased population and to create reinvigorated fishing villages.

 

Under the vision of ‘Fishing villages, where you want to live, where you can coexist’, the plan aims to safeguard the current fishing population of 100,000 and to achieve an average fishing household income of KRW 80 million by 2030. To realize these goals, the Ministry has selected three core initiatives: ① Enhance the openness of fishing villages, ② Growing the income base for fishing villages, and ③ Improving the quality of life of fishing villages.

 

< Enhancing Openness of Fishing Villages >

 

-  Improving aquaculture and village fishing licensing systems: newly create public lease licenses, expand scope for license leasing
- Ship leases for the younger generation: pilot program in 2022 with 10 vessels, nurturing a youth fishing population of 10,000
- ‘Quasi-returning fishers’ program: support for returning villagers who are not directly engaged in the fishing business

 

First, the policies on aquaculture and village fishing, which are currently focused mainly around existing fishing populations, will be improved to allow easier entry for new populations. As the framework for issuing licenses for aquaculture and village fishing are prioritized towards existing fishers, it has been difficult for new entrants to obtain the licenses. Also, a public-lease license framework will be created, where licenses are to be issued to public institutions, who can lease the rights to new entrants.

 

Moreover, current aquaculture licenses allow public institutions to only borrow from individual licenses and not sub-lease to any third parties, which does not support active leasing of licenses. Thus, policies are to be improved to also allow community licenses (National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives, fishing communities) to be leased to public institutions, which can then be sub-leased to returning fishing populations.

 

Furthermore, while only legal fishing entities with more than 60% of their members as fishers are currently allowed to lease aqua-farms, the relevant policies will be improved to allow new legal fishing entities with more than 50% of the members as fishers to lease aqua-farms. As such, new channels are to be provided for the returning population to enter the aquaculture business.

 

Second, the Ministry will implement the ‘Youth Fishing Boat Lease Program’, whereby public institutions will borrow idle fishing boats and lease them to the youth population with little capital to provide them with fishing opportunities. The pilot program will start in 2022 with 10 vessels, with further plans to review the pilot results and expand the program.

 

These policy improvements and lease programs are expected to increase the vitality of the fishing villages by lowering the entry barriers to fishing communities and increasing the utilization of fishing ships and aquafarms that are not in operation due to aging.

 

In addition, five smart public aqua-farming clusters,* currently in construction around the nation, will be used as the venue for aquaculture technology training for prospective startups and aquaculture populations. This will help to foster professionals in aquaculture, supporting the settlement of returning fishers as well as contribute to the development of Korea’s aquaculture industry.

* Busan, Gyeongnam Gosung, Jeonnam Shinan, Gangwon Gangneung and Yangyang, and Gyeongbuk Pohang

 

Third, to attract private investment in core economic infrastructure within the fishing villages, including aqua-farms, fishing boats, and residential complexes, the Ministry plans to review the introduction of the ‘Fishing Village Investment Fund (tentative project name)’, whereby the government makes matching contributions in conjunction with private investments.

 

In connection to the above, the ‘Quasi-returning fishers’ program will be launched to support individuals returning to the fishing villages who are not directly involved in fishing activities with the goal to attract more population to fishing villages. Individuals, such as fund investors desiring to relocate to fishing villages, will be given the status of ‘quasi-returning fishers’, as well as subsidies for ensuring continued residence. These actions are expected to attract more private investment, facilitate the relocation of the retired population to fishing villages, and ultimately revive the fishing economy.

 

< Growing the Income Base for Fishing Villages >

 

- Attract private investment in national fishing ports and wholesale distribution centers: attract private investment of KRW 600 billion by 2026
- Expand support for employment and startups for returning fishers and villagers: also provide support for family members of the returning population
- Identify and increase support for profitable businesses, including development of fishing village tourism contents and specialty products

 

The Ministry will roll out programs to improve the income of fishing villages and create jobs, including the attraction of private investments in fishing villages, providing more support for jobs and startups for those returning, deregulating fishing village regions and developing various profit-making business models.

 

First, the Ministry plans to attract private investments in idle locations at national fishing ports to build tourism leisure facilities, shopping centers, and corporate training centers. Also, a pilot program will be rolled out (1 candidate in 2022) to modernize a wholesale distribution center by introducing automation, low-temperature facilities, and modern conveniences. Later, the Ministry plans to review expansion of the program by launching a fund to modernize wholesale distribution centers.
Support for startups, employment, and training are to be expanded to ensure the stable settlement of the youth population in fishing communities.

 

The number of recipients for startup subsidies,* which are currently offered to returning fishers aged below 40, will be increased (from 200 in 2021 → 220 in 2022). The subsidy program will be further reviewed to provide support for employment of family members in addition to startup owners.

* For returning fishers aged below 40, settlement subsidy of a maximum of KRW 1 million per month is provided for a maximum of 3 years

 

Training will also be enhanced to help the successful settlement of newcomers and to share settlement knowhow and experiences. The current four four schools in operation for returning fishers are to be increased to six locations (added in Gyeoggi and Gyeongbuk regions), with subsidies provided for the operations of the schools from 2022. Moreover, a ‘returning fisher/villager information portal platform’ is planned for launch to allow easy access to information needed by the returning population and for life in fishing villages.

 

Furthermore, regulations will be relaxed in the fishing village production restriction zones* to allow food service businesses, such as restaurants and bakeries, and support the development of convenience meals using local specialties will be provided to identify various profit models and create jobs in fishing communities.
*  Zones that require management for purposes of agricultural, forestry, and fisheries production but are difficult to manage as they are designated as forest areas in consideration of land uses of the surrounding areas (｢Land Planning Act｣ Article 36)

< Improving the Quality of Life of Fishing Villages >

 

- Residential support customized to different stages of relocation / settlement
: Homes for returning fishers (planning stage) → remodeling of vacant houses (early stages) → residential platform (long-term settlement)
- Secure service infrasturcture for daily life, including medical facilities and transportation: prepare standards for fishing village daily life services
- Improve coastal and island region transportation: expand marine transportation infrastructure

 

In order to prevent people from avoiding the fishing regions due to poor quality of life issues, the Ministry will drastically improve essential residential, transportation, and education infrastructure of fishing communities.

 

First, to resolve the issue of poor residential environments, one of the biggest reasons behind people avoiding relocation to fishing villages, a residential subsidy program will be rolled out to match the different stages of relocation.
During the relocation planning stage, Homes for Returning Fishers are to be built and provided as temporary residential facilities to provide an opportunity for the potential returning population to experience life in fishing villages for a certain time period. In the initial settlement stages, the Vacant House Remodeling program will support the refurbishment of vacant houses in fishing villages to provide them as lease-based residential facilities.
* 2022 pilot program will install 6 ‘Homes for Returning Fishers’ and 3 ‘refurbished vacant houses’

 

During the long-term settlement stage, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport will jointly provide long-term leased public housing through the ‘residential platform’ project. Moreover, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to review the roll out of its own public housing construction and supply project in consideration of housing demand in the medium to long-term.

 

Second, the “minimum standards for fishing village daily services” will be prepared in consideration of the characteristics of fishing regions, including islands, which shall be used as the basis for making improvements in the key medical, transportation, and cultural services infrastructure. Life service hub centers, providing medical and education services, will be installed at major hub locations, including national fishing ports, which will be the focal points to drive the improvement in essential medical, transportation, and cultural services that will ultimately upgrade the quality of life of fishing communities.

 

Moreover, infrastructure for marine transportation, such as berth facilities in coastal and island regions, will be improved. Also, the Ministry plans to review a project to improve accessibility of the islands that currently do not offer passenger ship or ferry services in collaboration with local government entities.

 

KIM, Jun-suk Head of the Marine Policy Office, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, explained that “the fishing regions are not just sources of marine products, but also play a role in serving the public good by safeguarding the maritime territory, 4.4 times larger than the national land area, and to secure marine and fishery resources.” He added, “(the Ministry) will continue to drive initiatives in continued communication and collaboration with the existing fishers and local governments and will fully commit to reinvigorating fishing villages so that they can embrace diverse generations and occupations.”