1. The seventh meeting on fisheries cooperation between the Republic of Korea and China took place in Busan on May 21, with Deputy Director-General for Northeast Asian Affairs Chung Byung-won of the ROK Foreign Ministry and Deputy Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs Zhai Leiming of the Chinese Foreign Ministry leading their respective delegations. The meeting is a regular consultative channel for discussions on fisheries issues between diplomatic and fisheries authorities of the two countries.

2. In the latest meeting, the two sides assessed the state of fisheries in the first half of this year, and engaged in a broad exchange of views on a range of issues, including illegal fishing in waters near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), ways to improve the fisheries order in the Yellow Sea, and movements and anchoring of vessels in the East Sea.

3. The ROK side especially expressed serious concern over the fact that the recent dramatic increase in Chinese vessels’ fishing operations in waters near the NLL in the Yellow Sea is threatening the livelihoods of Korean fishermen and causing tensions between North and South Korea. The ROK side urged the Chinese side to devise strong and effective measures to resolve the issue.

4. On ways to improve the fisheries order in the Yellow Sea, the two sides agreed to work to prevent serious violations from occurring again by strengthening measures to hand over fishing boats that commit serious violations, including fishing without permits and violation of territorial waters, and strictly enforcing double punishments. They also agreed to continue to work together to establish a system for joint crackdowns.

o In particular, the ROK side stressed that in order to completely deter illegal fishing, it is necessary to confiscate and scrap boats that fish without permits. The ROK side asked the Chinese side to work together to facilitate relevant consultations between fisheries authorities of the two countries.

5. On the problematic situation occurring in the second half of every year, where Chinese vessels anchor near Ulleungdo in case of emergency while moving to the East Sea, the ROK side requested the Chinese side to ensure that Chinese fishermen are given prior guidance so that they comply with anchoring procedures, including prior notification; Korean fishermen’s fishing gear and underwater facilities are not damaged; and environmental pollution and illegal fishing do not take place.

6. In response to the ROK side’s request, the Chinese side stated that it is exerting efforts to improve the fisheries order, and explained that it will continue to pay close attention to the issue and take proactive measures.

7. In addition, the two sides agreed on the need to effectively manage fishing boats using science and technology. They also decided to work actively together to find new cooperative measures to improve the fisheries order, including the electronic permit system, being pursued by the ROK side.

8. The two sides also agreed to continue to consult on ways to strengthen cooperation between the two countries’ agencies in charge of crackdowns, including holding ROK-China joint meetings attended by Chinese fishermen; strengthening communications through exchange visits between the two countries’ government officials handling fisheries policies; and seeking to sign a memorandum of understanding between maritime security authorities of the two countries.

9. The two sides shared the view that this meeting on fisheries cooperation, along with the ROK-China Joint Committee on Fisheries and other consultative mechanisms, has played a useful role as an important channel for communications between the two countries on illegal fishing and fisheries cooperation. They agreed to hold the 8th meeting on fisheries cooperation in China at an appropriate time in the second half of this year.


*unofficial translation