Operation of 'Special Crackdown Support Team' for Illegal Foreign Fishing Vessels
Enforcement Discussion on the 26th... Additional Personnel Deployment
The Gunsan Coast Guard is stepping up efforts to crack down on illegal fishing by foreign vessels.
On the 26th, the Gunsan Coast Guard held a 'Discussion on Crackdown of Illegal Fishing by Foreign Vessels' in a small conference room on the 3rd floor of its headquarters, announcing on the 27th that it will strengthen its response to Chinese fishing vessels.
The Coast Guard judged that a strong response is necessary against Chinese fishing vessels engaged in increasingly cunning and bold illegal fishing activities, and has been operating a temporary 'Illegal Foreign Vessel Crackdown Support Team (hereinafter referred to as the Support Team)' since the 20th.
The Coast Guard is cracking down on Chinese fishing vessels engaged in illegal fishing. Photo by Gunsan Coast Guard
The Support Team is convened from the planning stage of inspections and searches of Chinese fishing vessels. It cracks down on Chinese vessels through ▲ support and requests for patrol vessels and aircraft ▲ legal review ▲ aerial evidence collection support ▲ sharing of know-how. The team supports the entire process from capture to release to ensure that on-site patrol forces can conduct crackdowns more swiftly and smoothly.
The Coast Guard is dualizing the crackdown and administration of Chinese fishing vessels by forming the Support Team. It is expected to accelerate more prompt and thorough investigations. The discussion on this day covered practical support measures by the Support Team, strategies for cracking down on collective violent resistance by illegal foreign fishing vessels, and tactical approaches for various types of new resistance.
In addition, to eradicate illegal fishing, the Coast Guard plans to strengthen patrols in preparation for an increase in foreign vessel fishing activities in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and to preemptively block illegal fishing through a maritime and aerial integrated patrol system linking aircraft and patrol vessels.
Park Sang-wook, Chief of the Gunsan Coast Guard, said, "Thorough training must be carried out to ensure the safety of officers involved in cracking down on illegal foreign fishing vessels," and urged, "Strictly respond to illegal foreign vessels that resist maritime law enforcement, and do your best to protect maritime sovereignty and the safety of fishermen."
Meanwhile, since September, Chinese fishing vessels have resumed fishing activities such as squid fishing after their self-imposed fishing moratorium ended. Since the 16th of last month, the fishing moratorium on Chinese net vessels known for indiscriminate fishing was lifted, and about 100 Chinese vessels have been fishing daily inside the permitted waters of the Gunsan area. The Coast Guard recently captured three vessels and collected a deposit of 90 million won.
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