The government will launch a pilot voyage on the Northern Sea Route next summer. It plans to solicit a Korea-flagged shipping company that can sail from Busan to Rotterdam using a 3,000-TEU-class container ship (1 TEU is one 20-foot container).
The cap on fines for illegal fishing by Chinese vessels will be raised, and the response will shift from expulsion to seizure.
Vice Minister Kim Seong-beom of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) announced these plans at a presidential policy briefing held on the afternoon of the 23rd at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries building in Busan.
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) will first prepare for the Northern Sea Route era by conducting a pilot voyage next summer of a 3,000-TEU-class container ship from Busan to Rotterdam. It will also push to localize the technology to build container ships with ice-strengthening and icebreaking functions.
It will establish the "marine capital area development strategy" in the first half of next year and form a marine cluster in the southeast region that concentrates marine-related corporations, public institutions, and a maritime court.
The fisheries production structure will be overhauled to reflect climate change. The number of fishing vessels, which is high relative to fishery resources, will also be reduced. Vice Minister Kim Seong-beom of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) said, "We will focus on reducing the excessive fishing fleet relative to fishery resources," adding, "We will review a plan to cut 40% of coastal and offshore vessels over five years."
By contrast, aquaculture will be developed into a growth industry through smartization and scaling up. Taking into account rising water temperatures, the government will identify new suitable aquaculture sites in the open sea and the East Sea and designate leading smart aquaculture zones.
To improve the seafood distribution structure, the government will also build an "onboard auction system" that sells the catch immediately by applying artificial intelligence (AI) reading technology.
For China's illegal fishing, the cap on fines will be raised from 3 billion won to 10 billion won. The response will change from "expulsion" to "seizure," and after punishment in Korea, offenders will be handed over to China for double punishment.
Vice Minister Kim said, "In the short six months since the launch of the new administration, we completed the transfer to Busan and achieved record exports of K-seafood," adding, "We will deliver tangible results that can give hope to people's lives and contribute to Korea's balanced development."