Jeonnam Province Launches 'Fishing Vessel Accident Prevention System Project' in Full Swing

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province announced on the 16th that it will actively promote the ‘2020 Fishing Vessel Accident Prevention System Construction Project’ to prevent safety accidents and minimize casualties for small fishing vessels under 10 tons operating along the coast.

Currently, among the 27,296 registered fishing vessels in Jeonnam Province, 26,437 vessels under 10 tons account for 97%.

Accordingly, the province has secured a project budget of 900 million KRW to support Very High Frequency Digital Selective Calling (VHF-DSC), automatic fire extinguishing systems, life jackets, and Vessel Automatic Entry/Exit Terminals (V-Pass).

So far, 400 million KRW, which is 41% of the project budget, has been spent to distribute a total of 1,928 safety equipment units, including 69 VHF-DSC units, 11 automatic fire extinguishing systems, 1,792 life jackets, and 56 V-Pass terminals.

In addition, the project is being promoted through the Fisheries Cooperative, actively encouraging the relevant fishers to participate in the project by the end of the year.

Distribution is carried out by the marine and fisheries departments of 12 cities and counties, including Mokpo City, and 60% of the purchase cost is supported by subsidies, allowing fishers to install the equipment by paying only 40%.

In particular, with the recent enforcement of the ‘Fishing Vessel Safety Operation Act’ mandating the wearing of life jackets even during the issuance of preliminary warnings, the province plans to focus on distributing the ‘Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries type-approved fishing vessel life jackets,’ designed to maintain body temperature and minimize net entanglement during work in case of falling into the sea.

Regarding VHF-DSC, the Korea Coast Guard will replace the old terminals distributed from 2011 to 2012 with new products and support new recipients as well. Antennas of VHF-DSC units that are not GPS-linked will also be replaced with compatible antennas.

Choi Jeong-gi, Director of Fisheries Resources at Jeonnam Province, said, “Jeonnam Province will continue to spare no support to protect the precious lives of fishers,” and urged, “Fishers should actively participate in the project.”

Meanwhile, Jeonnam Province has spent 7.4 billion KRW from 2015 to last year to distribute a total of 13,127 safety equipment units to minimize casualties among fishers by preventing safety accidents on small fishing vessels.