The Korea Coast Guard is strengthening crackdowns on illegal fishing gear sold online, such as harpoon guns and modified hooks.
The Coast Guard announced on the 14th that it has been conducting special crackdowns from July to the end of the year to preemptively block the use of prohibited fishing gear for tidal flat harvesting. Over the past three months, 36 people have been booked without detention by the Coast Guard, and approximately 8,800 pieces of illegal fishing gear worth about 150 million KRW have been seized.
Mr. A and others are suspected of manufacturing or selling illegal fishing gear nationwide, including in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, and Donghae, Gangwon Province, from 2016 until last month (violations of the Act on the Safety Control of Firearms, Swords, and Explosives, and the Fisheries Resources Management Act).
They produced simulated firearms such as harpoon guns, a 'Gaebul pump' that uses pressure to catch marine products in tidal flats, and various types of 'modified hooks.' Some purchased illegal fishing gear from them and sold it through internet cafes or clubs.
In particular, harpoon guns were sold for 300,000 to 1,600,000 KRW each, and some dealers who imported and sold illegal fishing gear from China were also caught in this operation.
During this crackdown period, the Coast Guard, together with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Korea Internet Shopping Association, and the Korea Internet Corporations Association, blocked over 3,900 cases of illegal fishing gear sales, including about 800 cases of overseas direct purchases online.
Kim Jong-wook, Commissioner of the Korea Coast Guard, said, "Illegal fishing gear such as simulated firearms and Gaebul pumps can be punished not only for sales but also for possession depending on the case," adding, "We will continue to expand investigations by tracking the distribution process of illegal fishing gear."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
