- Reducing the number of Chinese drift net boats entering Korean waters by 50 in 2022
- Agreed to draft resource management plan for Korea-China Provisional Water Zone by 2024

 

<Agreement Highlights>

ㅇ 1,300 fishing boats will be allowed to enter each nation’s respective EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) in 2022, reduced by 50 from 2021 (1,350 boats) (continued reduction over 6 consecutive years since 2017)
ㅇ Extending operation duration of Korean longline fishing boats in Chinese EEZ by 1 month, and reducing the number of fishing trawlers and carrier boats allowed within the trawler prohibition zone surrounding Jeju by 2 each for each respective nation
ㅇ To document the agreement on enhanced collaboration concerning the crackdown on Chinese boats suspected of illegal fishing in North Korean waters off the East Sea and to agree on the establishment of a basis for managing fishery resources in the Korea-China Provisional Water Zone

 

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF; Minister MOON, Seong-Hyeok) announced that it held the 2nd preparatory and main meetings for the 21st Korea-China Joint Fisheries Committee meeting for 4 days from November 16th (Tues) to 19th (Fri) and that the two sides came to an agreement on the fishing negotiations for 2022 fishing season, including the fleet size and the terms of operations for both countries.

 

From Korea, Deputy Minister KIM, Jun-Seok from the Marine Policy Office of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, took the lead as chief representative with participation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Korea Coast Guard, Fisheries Management Service, the Korean Embassy to China, and Korea Fisheries Association while Director-General (Deputy Minister equivalent) Liu Xinzhong of the Bureau of Fisheries within the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs took the lead as chief representative for China, with participation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China Maritime Police, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the China Fisheries Association.

 

During the fishing negotiations concerning 2022, the size of the fleet allowed and the terms of operations in each nation’s respective EEZ were determined, with further discussions focused on the countermeasures to uproot illegal fishing by Chinese fishing boats in the North Korean waters off the East Sea and nearby the NLL (Northern Limit Line) off the West Sea, as well as on the plan to manage fisheries resources in the Korea-China Provisional Water Zone.

 

A. Reducing the number of boats allowed in EEZ by 50 in 2022

 

The total number of boats allowed to fish in the EEZ of the counterparty nation for 2022 was finally agreed upon, at 1,300 vessels, a reduction by 50 units from 1,350 in 2021. This marks the sixth straight year of reductions since 2017.

 

The number of Chinese fishing boats allowed to operate within the Korean EEZ was cut by 50 for drift net (gill net) boats, with many recent crackdowns on their use of illegal fishing nets, and 2 for carrier vessels that support the illegal fishing of the drift net boats. The total catch quota for Chinese ships was maintained at 56,750 tons as per the terms of the 2019 agreement (to be maintained until the fishing season of 2022).

B. Relaxing restrictions for Korean ships while tightening those for Chinese ships

 

The operation period for Korean fishing boats (such as longline and jigging vessels) that primarily catch cutlassfish in China’s EEZ has been extended by 1 month*, allowing 11 months of operations to help maintain the business stability of Korean fishermen. At the same time, the number of Chinese twin-rig trawlers allowed to operate within the trawler prohibition zone surrounding Jeju, where the spawning grounds and habitats of major fish species are concentrated, was reduced by two.

C. Stronger crackdown on illegal fishing by Chinese boats in the East and West Seas

 

The two nations also discussed ideas on countermeasures to prevent illegal fishing by Chinese boats near the NLL off the East and West Seas of the Korean peninsula.
First, breaking away from its past attitude of completely denying the illegal fishing of squid by Chinese vessels in North Korean waters, China committed itself to clearly enforcing b crackdown actions. Also, China has agreed to enforce ber measures to crackdown on illegal fishing once Korea provides information on the illegally operating boats as well as the photographs of the fishers on such boats with the evidence acquired. This appears to be in line with the Chinese government’s resolve to eradicate illegal fishing near the NLL. China had previously been tepid regarding the crackdown, reasoning that it would not be easy to identify the boats as most Chinese boats operating illegally in the NLL of East Sea are unlicensed or possess counterfeit credentials.

 

On July 31st, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries provided information on a Chinese boat suspected of illegal operations near the NLL off the East Sea to its Chinese counterpart. It reported that the Chinese authorities have verified the illegal fishing operations and meted out severe punishment. In addition, based on resource management efforts, such as the increase in TAC (Total Allowable Catch) for squid, favorable sea conditions, and b punishment measures enforced via cooperation between the two nations, the catch of squid from September to October, the main fishing season for the East Sea, increased by 104% from 14,440 tons in 2020 to 29,487 tons (tentative) in 2021.

 

To prevent illegal operations of Chinese fishing boats near the NLL off the West Sea, patrols will be increased at the Western perimeter of the Korean waters north of the Korea-China Provisional Water Zone while gradually enhancing cooperation with provincial governments that practically manage the Chinese fishing boats.

 

Furthermore, to maintain order in fishing practices by the boats of the two nations in the Korea-China Provisional Water Zone, joint patrols will be rolled out in the first half of 2022 for the guidance and control of vessels of the two nations. Also, to resume cross-boarding of control vessels by the guidance and enforcement officials, implementation approaches will be discussed during the 2022 Korea-China Fishery Guidance and Enforcement Working Group Meeting.

 

Moreover, Chinese experts are to be invited within the first half of 2022 to jointly review the development status of the Electronic Fishing License System to be introduced for Chinese fishing boats. It was also agreed that discussions be started on the installation of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) for all fishing boats and the introduction of the Electronic Pre-registration System for carrier vessels.

 

D. Draft a rational fisheries resources management plan for the Korea-China Provisional Water Zone by 2024

 

The two nations of Korea and China have agreed to draft a fisheries resources management plan for the Korea-China Provisional Water Zone by 2024 to ensure sustainable fishing and joint management of fisheries resources.

 

To this end, the two nations have tasked the Marine Biological Resources Sub-committee, under the Korea-China Joint Fisheries Committee, to prepare for the required actions, including the exchange of information by 2024. Thus, the National Institute of Fisheries Science of Korea and the Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute of China will kick start research on the actions required from next year.

 

Moreover, each nation will carry out 2 resource status surveys in 2022 (Korea: March and August, China: May and November) to ensure a scientific assessment of the resources in the Korea-China Provisional Water Zone. The two nations also agreed to carry out the joint release of aquatic seeds in China around June – July, with an increase in scale starting from this year.

 

Korea and China have further agreed to jointly work towards reducing marine waste, including marine plastics. While promotions and education are to be rolled out for the fishing population to prevent dumping of marine waste or old fishing gear, private fisher organizations from the two nations will cooperate to clean up fishing grounds.

 

Deputy Minister KIM, Jun-Seok from the Marine Policy Office of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries stated, “it is significantly meaningful that the Chinese government has clearly committed to cracking down on illegal operations by Chinese fishing boats near the NLL off the East Sea, which directly impacts squid fishing for Koreans.” He added, “(the Ministry) will collaborate with the Chinese government to tighten the management of illegal fishing by Chinese boats near the West Sea NLL and improve resources management in the Provisional Water Zone.”

 

Meanwhile, the two nations have been hosting Korea-China Joint Fisheries Committee meetings, taking turns each year since 2001 based on the Korea-China Fishing Agreements. This year marked the second virtual meeting following the previous year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The agreements on the fishing terms from this year’s meeting will become effective once the agreement resolution is signed by the chief representatives of both sides and exchanged via diplomatic channels.

 

Reference 1

Summary of Korea-China Fishing Agreements (Signed: Aug 3, 2000 / Effective: Jun 30, 2001)

 

□ Background of the Agreements

 

○ Introduction of a 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) framework following the enactment of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
* Korea (1996), Japan (1996), and China (1998) all declared their respective EEZs
** Effective since: Korea-Japan Fisheries Agreement (Jan 1999), Korea-China Fisheries Agreement (Jun 2001), and China-Japan Fisheries Agreement (Jun 2000)
○ The extension period required for concluding the EEZ demarcation resulted in several issues, including excessive Chinese boat operations*, which caused a depletion of resources, as well as incidents between the fishing boats of the two nations. Therefore, it became necessary to form a fisheries agreement to mediate the fishing dispute between the two nations.
* Comparison of catch before and after the agreement on Chinese fishing boats: (before) 17,393 boats / 1,268,000 tons → (2001∼2020 average) 1,479 boats / 41,000 tons

 

□ Characteristics of the agreed zones

 

○ (Exclusive Economic Zone [EEZ]) Fishing is only allowed based on permission regarding the EEZ of the respective nation. Based on the territorial sea baselines, the formal maritime zone of each nation (including transitional water zone) is around 60 nautical miles
○ (Provisional Water Zone) fishing boats from both nations are allowed to operate, while fisheries resources are to be jointly managed based on the decisions of the Korea-China Joint Fisheries Committee. Maritime flag state rules apply.
○ (Current Operation Zones) parts of the waters north of the latitude line overlapping with the north end of the Provisional Water Zone, the Provisional Water Zone, and parts of the waters south of the transitional water zone are to maintain current fishing operations

 

□ Fishing Operations under the Agreements

 

○ Before the agreement (1997), 17,393 fishing boats were in operation with a catch of 1,268,000 tons. In the last 3 years (2018 - 2020), average of 1,211 boats caught 41,000 tons of fish

 

Nation	Before Agreements (A)		After Agreements (2018 ~ 2020 average) (B)		Difference (B-A)
	Boats in operation	Catch (tons)	Boats in operation	Catch (tons)	Boats in operation	Catch (tons)
Korea	1,900	89,000	183	3,028	△1,717	△85,972
China	17,393	1,268,000	1,211	41,201	△16,182	△1,226,799

 

Reference 2

2022 Korea-China Fishing Boats Allowed in Mutual EEZs

 

(Unit: # of boat, tons)

Korean Fishing Boats			Chinese Fishing Boats
Trade Type	Boat Count	Quota	Trade Type	Boat Count	Quota
Total	1,300	56,750	Total	1,300	56,750
Trawler	180	5,365	Trawler	711	35,442
				(30)
Purse seine	142	9,750	- Twin rig	698	34,900
Drift gill net	140	3,992		(30)
Stow net	80	2,030	- Single rig	13	542
Line fishing	658	31,524	Seine	42	7,949
	(285)		Drift net	508	9,218
Trap net	100	4,089	Jig	39	4,141
	( - )
Generic carrier	10		Generic carrier	48

 

Note) 1. ( ) : The number of Korean fishing boats refers to the boats allowed below the 27th parallel north latitude, and the number of Chinese fishing boats refers to the boats allowed to operate within the trawler prohibition zone below the 33.45 parallel north latitude.

 

2. The number of the generic carriers are not included in the “total” count.