Goheung Jijuk and Yeosu Nam-myeon Fishing Villages Stand Out in Abandoned Fishing Gear Collection Contest

'Best Excellence' at Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Contest
Positive Impact on Resolving Local Residents' Complaints

The Yeosu Nam-myeon Fishing Village Association, which won the top prize at the fishing gear collection contest hosted by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.
[Photo by Jeollanam-do]

Jeollanam-do announced on the 13th that the Gohung Jijuk Fishing Village Cooperative and Yeosu Nam-myeon Fishing Village Cooperative each won the Grand Prize and a prize of 5 million won, respectively, awarded by the Korea Fisheries Infrastructure Public Corporation Chairman at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' 'Collect All Discarded Fishing Gear Competition.'

The competition was held for 10 days until July 10th to encourage voluntary participation from fishermen and related organizations with the goal of creating a clean fishing village environment. A total of 2,007 participants from 42 fishing village cooperatives and organizations nationwide collected 601 tons of discarded fishing gear.

This competition was a campaign planned for the effective collection and management of discarded fishing gear. It is evaluated to have helped resolve the inconvenience of local residents and form a positive social consensus by having fishing village cooperatives and local governments cooperate to solve the problem of abandoned discarded fishing gear.

Kim Hyun-mi, Director of the Maritime and Port Division of Jeollanam-do, said, "It is meaningful that two organizations received the grand prize as a result of the active participation of Jeonnam fishermen and fishing village cooperatives in the competition conducted by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries."

She added, "Marine waste management policies cannot be solved by government-led efforts alone," and said, "We will strengthen education for fishermen, regularize coastal cleanup activities, and support private marine environmental organizations so that fishermen and people who use the sea can participate together and take the lead in reducing marine waste."