MOF and KCG to Do Joint Inspection of Abandoned Fishing Gear to Crack Down on Noncompliance with the Fishing Gear Deposit System and Illegal Dumping

- Three weeks of intensive on-site inspections of marine- and land-based fishing gear from June 16 to July 4

 The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF; Minister Kang Do-hyung) and the Korea Coast Guard (KCG; Commissioner General Kim Yong-jin) announced that they would conduct field inspection and crackdown jointly with the relevant agencies for three weeks from Monday, June 16 to Friday, July 4 to prevent illegal dumping of abandoned fishing gear and encourage implementation of the fishing gear management system.

 Abandoned fishing nets and fish traps discharged into the ocean can entangle ship propellers, leading to ghost fishing where fish are caught and killed or damage to the marine ecosystem; thus resulting in a decrease in fishery resources.

 Therefore, the regional Office of Ocean and Fisheries, Fisheries Management Service, Coast Guard, and local governments plan to conduct field inspections and crackdowns by ▲checking the legal disposal of fishing gear, ▲inspecting compliance with the fishing gear production and sales business report and fishing gear deposit system, and ▲enforcing the ban on using new Styrofoam buoys.

 In particular, they will focus on checking the deposit labels on fishing traps as mandated by the fishing gear deposit system that has been in effect since January last year.

 Preliminary education will be held for one week—from June 9 to 13—before the official inspection to raise awareness of the seriousness of the damage caused by abandoned fishing gear and promote the collection and disposal of waste fishing gear generated during fishing operations on land.

 “Most of the waste in our oceans is caused by abandoned fishing gear. I ask for the active participation of fishermen and those involved in fishing gear in the implementation of the fishing gear management system— such as fishing gear deposit system—to protect our marine environment and fishery resources,” Minister Kang Do-hyung said.