Replace Old Boats to Prevent Illegal Expansion of Fishing Vessels

Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Implements Guidelines for Handling Replacement of Licensed Fishing Vessels

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced the "Guidelines for the Replacement of Licensed Fishing Vessels" on the 11th to prevent the illicit increase of fishing vessel size when replacing old vessels with new ones.

According to the guidelines, when a fisher who owns multiple vessels of the same type replaces one with a new vessel, if the new vessel is larger than the existing one, the fisher must dispose of existing vessels equivalent to the increased tonnage through scrapping or other means.

For example, if a fisher owns a 5-ton gillnet and trap vessel and a 2-ton gillnet vessel and wants to replace the 5-ton vessel with a 7-ton vessel, the existing 2-ton vessel must be scrapped. This is to ensure that the total vessel size remains consistent at 7 tons, as the fisher previously owned vessels all sized at 7 tons in the gillnet and trap fishery.

In cases where ownership of a vessel changes through sale or other means, the inspection certificate of the vessel in question must still be valid.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will announce these guidelines for three months and plans to implement them starting July 10.