Mokpo Coast Guard Seizes 4 Foreign Fishing Vessels for Illegal Fishing

Violation of Prohibited Size Limit for Capturing Chamhong-eo in Heuksan Hongdo Waters

Mokpo Maritime Police Station (Chief Kim Hae-cheol) has consecutively seized four foreign fishing vessels that illegally operated in South Korea's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

According to Mokpo Maritime Police on the 23rd, at around 7:30 a.m. on the 21st, two foreign fishing vessels, Vessel A (purse seine, 122 tons, 9 crew members) and Vessel B (purse seine, 122 tons, 9 crew members), were seized for illegal fishing about 35 km west of Hongdo, Heuksan-myeon, Sinan-gun, Jeollanam-do.

Mokpo Coast Guard is inspecting foreign fishing vessels engaged in illegal fishing.
[Photo by Mokpo Coast Guard]

Police investigation revealed that Vessels A and B caught 375 kg of flatfish and 770 kg of anglerfish respectively while fishing in South Korea's EEZ, but these catches were not recorded in their fishing logs.

At around 8:15 a.m. on the same day, Mokpo Maritime Police seized two foreign fishing vessels, Vessel C (gillnet, 149 tons, 13 crew members) and Vessel D (gillnet, 148 tons, 12 crew members), for catching undersized blackmouth anglerfish about 46 km southwest of Hongdo.

Investigation revealed that Vessels C and D illegally caught one box (20 kg) each of undersized blackmouth anglerfish, which are prohibited from being caught in South Korean waters.

A Mokpo Maritime Police official stated, "We will continue to crack down on foreign fishing vessels engaged in illegal fishing, such as those failing to record catches in fishing logs to reduce reported catch amounts or illegally catching undersized fish."

Meanwhile, last year, Mokpo Maritime Police seized 22 foreign fishing vessels for unauthorized and illegal fishing, leading efforts to protect South Korea's maritime sovereignty.