Incheon City Special Judicial Police Detect 11 Cases of Illegal Fishing During Spawning Season... Use of Unauthorized Nets, etc.

The Special Judicial Police Division of Incheon City announced on the 12th that it conducted joint crackdowns with frontline military and district offices from May to June on illegal fishing during the spring shellfish spawning season, uncovering a total of 11 violations.

This joint crackdown was carried out using 10 fishery patrol vessels not only at major ports, harbors, and fishery cooperative auction sites but also at fish markets and offshore waters.

By type of violation, the most common were unauthorized net use and loading violations with 4 cases, followed by 2 cases of violations during prohibited capture and harvesting periods, 2 cases of net mesh size violations, 2 cases of fishing gear real-name system violations, and 1 case of possession, storage, or sale of illegally caught seafood.

Incheon Special Judicial Police, who have launched a crackdown on illegal fishing during the spawning season, are inspecting whether the mesh size of fishing gear complies with regulations.
[Photo by Incheon City]

Fisherman A was caught for illegal capture during the prohibited period for shrimp fishing (May 1 to June 30), and seafood vendor B was caught selling juvenile blue crabs under 6.4 cm in body length, which is prohibited. Additionally, multiple fishermen loaded and used fishing gear without approval and failed to mark or attach ownership information on the gear.

According to fisheries-related laws, violations of prohibited capture and harvesting periods and size limits can result in imprisonment of up to 2 years or fines up to 20 million KRW. Unauthorized use or loading of double or more layered gill nets, net mesh size violations, and fishing gear real-name system violations can result in fines up to 10 million KRW.

The city will strictly take measures including immediate judicial processing according to relevant laws for the detected illegal fishing activities, and administrative actions such as suspension of fishing rights or imposition of fines will also be enforced.

An Incheon City official stated, "We will continue to crack down on illegal fishing to protect and preserve fishery resources. We hope fishermen will also take ownership and comply with relevant laws to conduct fishing activities safely."