Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Hosts National Autonomous Fisheries Management Competition... Awards for Fishermen and Organizations

President's Citation Awarded to Go Seung-cheol, President of the Korea Autonomous Fisheries Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Federation, and Others

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will hold the '15th National Conference on Autonomous Fisheries Management' in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do from the 29th to the 30th.

Autonomous fisheries management is a type of fishery where fishermen set their own regulations and autonomously manage marine resources according to regional characteristics, practicing resource creation, elimination of illegal fishing, joint production and sales, and improvement of fishing grounds environment. When first introduced in 2001, there were only 63 participating communities, but this has now expanded to 1,133.

Under the theme "20 Years Together, A New Leap for Autonomous Fisheries Management," the event will be attended by Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Moon Seong-hyeok, Assemblyman Jeong Jeomsik, Assemblyman Ha Youngje, Acting Governor of Gyeongsangnam-do Ha Byeongpil, government award recipients, and about 100 others.

Awards will also be given to fishermen and organizations who have dedicated themselves to fostering autonomous fisheries management. The Presidential Citation will be awarded to Go Seungcheol, Chairman of the Korea Autonomous Fisheries Management Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Federation, and the Korea Autonomous Fisheries Management Changwon City Federation. Chairman Go has been recognized for his contributions to revitalizing autonomous fisheries management in the Jeju region by leading 52 autonomous management communities with strong leadership since participating in autonomous fisheries management in 2007. The Changwon City Federation was evaluated for its efforts in marine environment improvement by conducting 40 capacity-building training sessions annually for its members and collecting 500 tons of marine debris each year.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and Gyeongsangnam-do will also hold exhibitions and experiential events featuring fishery equipment and seafood under the theme "The Value of the Sea, the Value of Fishermen, the Value of the Region" during the same period, as well as an academic conference to explore the development direction of autonomous fisheries management.

Minister Moon Seong-hyeok of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries stated, "Autonomous fisheries management, which we have nurtured and developed over the past 20 years, has contributed to enhancing the public value of fisheries such as marine environment improvement and marine resource protection. Now is the time for fishermen to unite their efforts and make a new leap toward greater achievements. The government will systematically foster and support autonomous fisheries management based on the Autonomous Fisheries Management Act enacted this year."