This initiative aims to pioneer new fishing grounds, particularly focusing on East Africa, including the waters off the coast of Kenya, known for their abundant squid resources. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) in South Korea has announced plans to invest 2.4 billion won, an increase of 1 billion won from last year, into its Overseas Fisheries Resource Survey project for 2023.
This initiative aims to pioneer new fishing grounds, particularly focusing on East Africa, including the waters off the coast of Kenya, known for their abundant squid resources.
Squid catches have been declining recently. In 2022, the inshore squid catch totaled 36,000 tons, while offshore fishing vessel production was 48,000 tons.
These figures represent a decrease of over 100,000 tons each compared to eight years ago. In 2014, the inshore and offshore catches were 163,000 tons and 167,000 tons, respectively.
Since 2001, the MOF has been conducting the Overseas Fisheries Resource Survey project to secure fisheries resources by exploring new overseas fishing grounds. This move comes in response to increased regulations on high seas fishing and the nationalization policies of coastal states regarding resource management.
Through this project, 11 new overseas fishing grounds, including North Pacific saury, Atlantic squid, and Southern Ocean toothfish (also known as Chilean sea bass), had been discovered as of 2022.
From last year, the project has expanded its scope to include both offshore and inshore fishers (organizations) as survey operators. They have investigated various fisheries resources in areas like the Russian waters for Alaska pollock and squid and the West African (Guinea-Bissau) waters for sardines and croakers.
In a statement, the MOF expressed its hopes for the success of the initiative, noting that “by pioneering rich new overseas fishing grounds, we can create opportunities for our fishing vessels to expand globally and contribute to the stable supply of seafood.”
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
