Crab Fishing Expansion

[Anchor Lead]

On April 1, this year's crab fishing began in a fishing zone in the West Sea, which was expanded last month in line with an inter-Korean agreement. Fishers are hailing the expansion, expecting to see a surge in their catches this year.

[Pkg]

Roughly ten crab fishing boats are leaving the port for the first operation of this year, following a months-long break since December. The fishing zone near Yeonpyeong Island has widened by 90 square kilometers.

[Soundbite] Park Cheol-soo(Ongjin County Office) : "The ships went out to sea today with expectations that crab production will increase in this region this spring."

The fishing area around the five South Korean islands near the inter-Korean maritime border in the West Sea has expanded 15 percent. Night-time operations, banned for 55 years since 1964, are now allowed for an hour daily. These measures are boosting the local crab fishing industry, which suffered a continued slump since 2010.

[Soundbite] Seong Do-kyung(Chairman, Yeonpyeong Fishers' Association) : "We expect the catches of crab and other fish will grow to help increase our income."

The National Institute of Fisheries Science expects the amount of crabs caught in the Yeonpyeong area will increase 30 percent on-year. However, the Incheon city government told the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries that local fishers' demand additional expansion of fishing zones as well as extended operation hours. With the expansion, South Korean coast guards have introduced a new patrol vessel in an effort to more efficiently prevent illegal operations by Chinese fishing boats.