By Kim Rahn
Korea and Chinese authorities plan to impose a permanent ban on owners of boats that are caught illegally fishing in each other’s exclusive economic zones (EEZ).
Officials of the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said Thursday that the two countries agreed to take this action against illegal operations during a meeting last week.
The agreement came after a Chinese fisherman was killed by a rubber bullet fired by a Korean Coast Guard (KCG) officer during a crackdown on illegal fishing in the West Sea, Tuesday.
“Last year, the two nations decided to bar illegally operating fishermen from fishing in the EEZ of each other’s country for three years if they interfere with the official duty of the KCG by violently resisting boarding attempts. At that time, we agreed to adopt detailed regulations this year,” a ministry official said.
“After this incident we decided to impose stricter rules, such as depriving such operators of their fishing licenses permanently,” he said.
The two countries will discuss measures at a working-level meeting in the first half of next year.
Under an agreement between the two nations in 2001, Chinese and Korean fishermen can operate in each country’s EEZ if they receive permission from the authorities. This year 1,600 boats from each country were licensed to catch 62,000 tons of fish.
Since the 2001 agreement, 4,628 Chinese vessels have been seized for illegally operating, with the annual figure on the rise.
In the meantime, the KCG will seek arrest warrants for 11 out of 25 crewmembers of the two seized boats for interfering with its official duty as they wielded weapons at coastguards in an attempt to prevent the latter from boarding their vessel.
“The video footage recorded shows they used axes, hacksaws and rakes against the officers. We showed the footage to the fishermen, who then admitted to the violence,” a KCG official said after questioning them at the Coast Guard’s West Regional Headquarters in Mokpo.
The captain, chief engineer and a crew member of one of the boats will face an additional charge of illegal operation in the EEZ.
“It is regrettable that a Chinese fisherman died during the crackdown. But we’ll take action according to the law against those who threatened KCG officers’ lives by using weapons,” the official said.
The clash between the fishermen and the coastguards took place at around 3:10 p.m. Tuesday. A 44-year-old fisherman, Zhang, was hit by one of the rubber bullets fired by an officer and was taken to hospital by helicopter. However, he was pronounced dead at 6 p.m.
The KCG said since the incident, not a single Chinese vessel has been seen in EEZ of the area, where an average of 20 to 30 boats used to operate illegally. “But some 100 boats were operating just beyond the EEZ. They may come anytime again when patrol boats are absent or at night,” the official said.