Fishing Negotiations

[Anchor Lead]

South Korea and Japan discuss quotas for fishermen in each other's exclusive economic zones at annual maritime negotiations. But the two sides have failed to reach an agreement at this year's talks. Here’s more.

[Pkg]

South Korea and Japan failed to reach an agreement during negotiations on fishing in their exclusive economic zones (EEZ) for the next year. With their exclusive economic zones overlapping, the two sides have to agree on fishing quotas and how many vessels are allowed in each other's zones. During this year's talks, the South Korean government proposed that Japan increase the quota for hairtail fish that South Korean fishermen can capture in Japanese waters from 2,150 tons to 5,000 tons. It also said that it would cut the quota for mackerel that Japanese fishing boats can catch in South Korean waters from 32,000 tons to 7,000 tons. However, Japan rejected the proposal, saying that the number of South Korean hairtail fishing vessels operating in Japanese waters should be reduced from 206 to 73. This confrontation led to the breakdown of the bilateral maritime negotiations. With the impasse, South Korean and Japanese fishermen cannot operate in each other’s EEZs starting from July.

[Soundbite] Jeong Young-hoon(Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries) : "South Korean fishing boats must return to South Korean waters by midnight Thursday. They can be seized by Japanese authorities for illegal fishing if they are in violation."

Mackerel and hairtail have been mainly caught in Japanese waters lately, with the Kuroshio Warm Current flowing toward Japan. The collapse of the fisheries negotiations is expected to slash the catch by South Korean fishing boats. Seoul plans to begin additional negotiations as soon as possible while operating an emergency task force to prevent the seizure of South Korean fishing vessels by Japanese authorities.