the fleet targeted redfish rather than cod, which is the 

 species most often targeted by fishing fleets in the 

 North Atlantic. The Canadian Government has sought 

 the cessation of foreign fishing in this region because 

 of the depleted Canadian cod resource and has 

 requested the withdrawal of ROK vessels from tliis 

 fishery since 1988.* The ROK announced in February 

 1993 that it would comply with Canada's request and 

 witlidraw the four trawlers from the region by the end 

 of April 1993. The ROK Government did not reveal 

 how it would compensate its fishermen for this lost 

 fishing ground.' 



Southern Trawlers: Other ROK distant-water 

 trawlers primarily target squid which are caught in the 

 southwestern Atlantic and off New Zealand. Tlie 

 trawler-caught squid catch increased from 39,000 t in 



1990 to nearly 60,000 t in 1991 (appendix G). There 

 are reportedly 44 trawlers fishing in the soutliwest 

 Atlantic and 9 trawlers fishing off New Zealand.'" 

 These vessel numbers are consistent with 1991 catch 

 stadstics which show a squid catch of 54,000 t in the 

 Atlantic and 5,000 t in the Pacific (appendices H and 

 I). 



Shrimp Trawlers: As is the case with Japan, the 

 ROK has a sizable distant-water trawler fleet fishing 

 for shrimp in waters off South America. The only 

 official statistics available for this fleet indicate that 

 tliere were 112 ROK distant- water shrimp trawlers in 



1991 (appendix B). ROK trawlers, based in Suriname 

 and Brazil, have registered amiual catches between 

 1,500 to 4,000 tons." 



B. Squid Jiggers 



The ROK's squid jigging and driftnet fisheries 

 began simultaneously in the northwest Pacific in 1979. 

 Jigging operations are currently conducted primarily in 

 the southwestern Atlantic, and off New Zealand and in 

 Peruvian waters. ROK Government statistics indicate 

 a slow growth in the fleet from 1985-89, but a near 

 doubling of the fleet size in 1990 (appendix B). A total 

 of 98 ROK squid jiggers were deployed in 1991 with 

 a total catch of 150,000 tons.'' Catch stanstics show 

 that nearly 75 percent of this squid is taken in the 

 Atlantic Ocean. Total jigging catch has fluctuated 

 greatly since 1988, but has ranged between 86,000 and 

 150,000 tons during the last 5 years (appendix E). 



C. Driftnet Vessels 



Tlie ROK distant-water high-seas pelagic driftnet 

 fleet began fishing primarily for flying squid in 1979. 

 Most ROK driftnet vessels were converted tuna 

 longliners, 90 percent of which were more than 16 

 years old." Vessels sizes ranged from 170-500GRT, 

 with an average capacity of 290 gross registered tons. 

 The number of driftnet vessels grew rapidly from 14 in 

 1980 to 99 by 1983, and then to 130 in 1987. In 1992, 

 the final year of the driftnet fishery, a total of 105 

 ROK vessels participated. 



In the wake of the 1992 United Nations driftnet 

 moratorium, the ROK Government implemented two 

 programs to assist its driftnet fishermen: 1) provision 

 of loans to driftnet vessel owners to encourage 

 conversion to squid jigging and saury fishing, and 2) 

 purchase of obsolete driftnet vessels for scrapping. 

 The ROK Govenmient allocated $50 million for the 

 loan conversion plan (75 vessels) and $10.6 million for 

 the vessel buy-back program (30 vessels) in 1992. The 

 ROK Government conducted exploratory squid jigging 

 on the former North Pacific driftnet fishing grounds 

 during 1992, but meager catch results indicate tliat this 

 method is not a feasible alternative for that fishing 

 ground. ''' 



In a survey of ROK driftnet vessel owners 

 conducted in late 1992, it was discovered that the 

 owners planned to retire 56 of the driftnet vessels, and 

 convert 44 vessels to alternative (unspecified) fishing 

 methods. The fate of the remaining five vessels 

 remains to be determined.''' It is likely tliat former 

 driftnetters, now converted to jigging, will focus their 

 effort on Latin American grounds off Argentina, Peru, 

 and Ecuador."' 



D. Distant-water Tuna Vessels 



Tlie ROK distant-water tuna fishery began in 1957 

 with tuna longlining in the Indian Ocean." ROK 

 distant-water tuna vessels can be divided into two 

 classifications: longliners which fish in the Atlantic, 

 Pacific, and Indian Oceans; and purse seiners which 

 operate in the central western Pacific. At the end of 

 1991, a total of 285 ROK distant-water mna vessels 

 were operating; 248 were longliners and 32 purse 

 seiners (appendix B). 



91 



