[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 24th that it has secured 24.3 billion KRW in the second supplementary budget for this year to support the marine and fisheries sector affected by COVID-19 and heavy rainfall.
First, the Ministry plans to issue an additional 20 billion KRW worth of seafood discount coupons to support the fisheries industry, which has been struggling due to COVID-19 and Japan's decision to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean. Through this, the number of seafood discount events held by 31 online and offline companies will increase from 4 to 6 times by the end of the year. The discount items will also expand from 9 aquaculture-centered products such as abalone and eel to 15 items including popular fish species like cod, pollock, and dried anchovies.
The scale of seafood discount support for traditional markets will increase from the existing 6 billion KRW to 9 billion KRW. This aims to supply domestic seafood at prices at least 20% lower. A budget of 3.2 billion KRW has been allocated to support aquaculture farms damaged by recent heavy rainfall in regions such as Jeollanam-do.
Additionally, 1.1 billion KRW will be used to discharge oyster shells, which are left on land causing environmental pollution and odor, into the ocean. Approximately 300,000 tons of oyster shells are generated annually during the production of farmed oysters, but improperly treated shells are left unattended, causing coastal environmental pollution and local complaints due to odor.
Besides this supplementary budget, the Ministry plans to use an additional 51 billion KRW from the existing budget for seafood stockpiling and purchase support.
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