Fisheries industry suffers migrant labor shortage due to COVID-19 entry restrictions

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By Jun Ji-hye

The fisheries industry here, which has traditionally relied heavily on immigrant workers, is suffering a serious labor shortage due to the government's entry restrictions on countries where workers usually come from ― such as Indonesia ― amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives (Suhyup), only 69 immigrant workers have come to Korea after acquiring E-9 non-professional employment visas, which are issued under the employment permit system in the first half of the year. This accounted for only 2.3 percent of the 3,000 workers expected by the fishing industry.

E-9 visa holders are allowed to work on fishing vessels less than 20 tons in size.

Suhyup noted that government-imposed virus-related regulations have almost completely halted the issuance of E-10 visas, which have been easier to acquire compared to E-9 visas and allow foreign workers to work on fishing vessels of more than 20 tons.

“Fishing villages here need about 15,000 foreign workers, but the number of the workers who are actually working is estimated at less than half of that,” a Suhyup official said. “Fishermen are raising concerns that they would have no choice but to abandon operations in the end due to the labor shortage.”

The official said the continued labor shortage has also led existing workers to ask for excessive pay raises.

“We urge the government to take appropriate measures to allow entry of more immigrant workers regardless of the countries they come from, providing they have been completely vaccinated, present negative PCR test results and meet other conditions,” the official said.