Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province (Governor Kim Jin-tae) announced on January 16 that it will significantly expand its coastal fishing vessel reduction project in 2026 to a total scale of 8.4 billion won. This initiative aims to address the decline in marine resources such as squid, restructure the fishing industry, and strengthen sustainable fisheries competitiveness.
This represents a 3.5-fold increase compared to the previous year’s 2.4 billion won. The province achieved this result by persistently requesting an increase in the project budget from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, ultimately securing 5.9 billion won in national funding and 2.5 billion won in provincial funding.
Looking at the annual performance of the coastal fishing vessel reduction project: 102 vessels were reduced in 2005, 142 in 2006, 218 in 2007, and 266 in 2008, after which the numbers have been on a downward trend each year.
In particular, from 2015 to 2023, due to factors such as support standards set below actual transaction prices, demand for vessel reduction plummeted, resulting in only up to two vessels being reduced per year.
Recently, the management environment for coastal fisheries has deteriorated due to a decline in key marine resources such as squid, as well as rising fuel and labor costs. This has led to a sharp increase in demand for vessel reduction, but budget shortages have prevented the province from fully meeting this demand.
In fact, in 2025, only 5 out of 18 vessels (27%) that applied for reduction were selected, with the remaining 13 excluded due to insufficient budget.
In response, the province continued discussions with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to expand the vessel reduction project in line with fishermen’s needs, resulting in securing a 2026 project budget of 8.4 billion won (5.9 billion won in national funding and 2.5 billion won in provincial funding).
Through this, the province expects to select and proceed with the reduction of approximately 20 out of the 23 vessels (87%) requested for reduction in 2026.
Son Changhwan, Director of the Global Headquarters of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, stated, "We hope that the coastal fishing vessel reduction project will provide practical assistance to fishermen struggling with declining fishery resources and rising management costs. Moving forward, we will continue to actively promote the project and secure funding to strengthen the foundation for sustainable seafood production."
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