Korea to allow foreign shipboard officers amid crew shortage in tuna fleet

Pacific bluefin tuna are laid out in front of a fish auction house in Yeongdeok, North Gyeongsang Province, July 8. Yonhap

Korean tuna longline vessels will now be permitted to hire one foreign shipboard officer if no Korean sailors are available, a move aimed at addressing a growing labor shortage in the country’s deep-sea fishing industry.

A foreign shipboard officer on a Korean tuna longline vessel would carry out the same duties as their Korean counterparts, overseeing the safe and efficient operation of the ship as well as the management of its crew and fishing activities.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said last week that the National Assembly passed nine maritime-related bills, including a revision to the Ship Officers Act. The revised law allows only tuna longline vessels to hire one foreign officer per ship.

The revision paves the way for foreign marine officers to work on Korea’s distant-water fishing vessels — a move that had been blocked because the country is not a party to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel, which sets global standards and allows mutual recognition of qualifications among member states.

Tuna long lining is a method of deep-sea fishing that uses long lines with baited hooks to catch tuna. Each vessel is required to hire Korean officers first and may only employ foreign officers if no Korean crew members are available.

The ministry said the revision aims to ease a labor shortage in Korea’s distant-water fishing industry, where 78.9 percent of officers are over 50 and few young recruits are willing to work on deep-sea vessels, resulting in an aging workforce and staffing gaps.

To address the issue, the government, fishing companies and labor unions agreed last year in a tripartite deal to allow the hiring of foreign officers. As part of the deal, vessel owners also pledged to improve working conditions for Korean crew members, including raising their fixed monthly salaries by 500,000 won ($359).