Oceans ministry expands fishing rights for sector-level fisheries cooperatives

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said it will allow industry-specific fisheries cooperatives to acquire and exercise fishing rights beyond village fishing, extending to them an exception previously reserved for area cooperatives and fishing villages.

The ministry published the revision to the enforcement rule of the Fisheries Act, which takes effect Oct. 22. Under the change, industry-specific cooperatives may obtain licenses for fisheries other than village fishing, and the fishing rights they acquire are added to the list of rights that city, county and district chiefs can reorder when setting priorities for exercising them. The revision also requires cooperatives that hold fishing rights to draw up fishery management rules and submit them to the same local government chiefs, an obligation previously limited to fishing villages and area cooperatives.

The ministry framed the change as a cleanup of unequal treatment. Current law bans the leasing of fishing rights in principle and grants an exception only when members of fishing villages or area cooperatives exercise rights those bodies own. Industry-specific cooperatives fell outside that exception even though, the ministry said, there was no particular reason to treat them differently from area cooperatives.

The rule follows an amendment to the Fisheries Act promulgated on April 21 and taking effect Oct. 22, and carries out matters delegated by that law.

"We will continue to strengthen efforts to overcome the crisis of fishing village decline and revitalize the fishing village economy," Oceans Minister Hwang Jong-woo said. "We will do our best to ensure there is no disruption in the process of organizing the subordinate legislation for the bills passed at this plenary session and enforcing the laws."

Other provisions were adjusted alongside: references to "metropolitan city mayors" now read "integrated special city mayors and metropolitan city mayors," and the special self-governing province clause now names Jeju Special Self-Governing Province specifically. References to area cooperatives in the rules on fishery management were expanded to cover industry-specific cooperatives as well.

The revision takes effect Oct. 22, except for the provisions on city designations and on Jeju, which took effect on the day of publication.