MOKPO, South Korea, Oct. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – The captain of a Chinese fishing boat that caught fire during an inspection by the South Korean Coast Guard last month has been indicted over obstruction of justice and professional negligence resulting in injuries, South Korean prosecutors said Friday. The 102-ton Chinese vessel with a 14-member crew [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s squid catch from the East Sea has been on a steady decline over the past four years due mainly to Chinese boats’ overfishing, data showed Tuesday. According to the data by the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives, the amount of squid sold at its 18 cooperatives along [...]
INCHEON, Oct. 11 (Korea Bizwire) – Last Friday, a 4.5-ton speedboat of the South Korean Coast Guard sank after being rammed by one of some 40 Chinese fishing boats that were illegally fishing off the coast of Socheong Island, Incheon. Although no causalities resulted from the incident, there is concern that Korea’s lax approach towards [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s fishing industry suffered damage due to scorching heat that has settled in the country and the outbreak of cholera, the maritime ministry said Friday. According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the local fishing industry is estimated to have suffered damage worth 8.5 billion won (US$7.3 [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea will resume its policing operations next month to prevent Chinese fishermen from illegally entering neutral waters of the Han River estuary ahead of the peak season for crab fishing, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Wednesday. In June, the joint military police unit composed of the [...]
JEJU, Aug. 5 (Korea Bizwire) – The number of indo-pacific bottlenose dolphins in the seas off Jeju Island is slowly recovering after years of steady decline, thanks to cooperation from the local fishing industry and a drop in poaching. The National Fisheries Research & Development Institute (NFRDI) first started monitoring these mammals by distinguishing their physical [...]
HAMAN, South Korea, July 29 (Korea Bizwire) – The Nakdong River is the longest river (510km) in South Korea, and passes through the two biggest southeastern cities, Daegu and Busan, functioning as an important water source on the peninsula. But a recent study revealed that some parts of the river have become deeper in recent [...]
SEOUL, July 4 (Korea Bizwire) – The South Korean government has decided to install a total of 80 new artificial reefs near the Yellow Sea border with North Korea to help thwart illegal fishing by Chinese boats, the finance ministry said Monday. Under the plan, approved in a Cabinet meeting, the vast underwater structures, weighing [...]
BUSAN, June 30 (Korea Bizwire) – Fish that used to thrive in Korea’s littoral areas are rapidly disappearing. Although the phenomenon is also the result of global warming, experts point to overfishing as the fundamental cause. The 1970s and 1980s were the golden age of fishing, but since then, catches have decreased by over 60 [...]
BUSAN, June 22 (Korea Bizwire) – The Indo-Pacific finless porpoise, or simply finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides), is one of seven porpoise species. These porpoises are mainly found around the Korean Peninsula, especially in Korea’s West Sea, and because of their long-lasting relationship with the Korean people, they’re often referred to as ‘native dolphins’, or sometimes ‘smiling [...]