800 



600 



400 



200 



n Total 



IXjLongliners 

 Hotter Trawlers 

 LJ Other Trawlers 

 LU Squid Jiggers 

  Oriftnet 

 LJ Shrimp Trawlers 

 STuna Purse Seine 

 Q Stick-held Saury 

 S Distantwater Trap 



1985 1986 1987 1988 1969 1990 1991 

 Source Statistical Yearbook o( Agriculture. Forestry, ana i-isnenes, nOK Ministry o( Agriculture. 

 Forestry, and Fisheries. 1986-1992 

 -Prior to 1991, Shrimp trawlers, drittnet vessels, and tuna purse seiners were not differentiated 



Figure I. Republic of Korea. Nuntber of disiam-wmer fishery vessels, hy vessel rype; I9K5-9I. 



fisheries press indicates that the ROK distant-water 

 fleet is shrinking rapidly, from 757 vessels in 1992 to 

 only 645 vessels in 1993.- 



ROK Government statistics indicate that this is a 

 rapidly aging fleet, particularly for trawlers and jiggers 

 (appendix C). Overall figures indicate that while 22 

 percent of the ROK distant-water fleet was over 20 

 years old in 1985. that figure had risen to 35 percent 

 by 1991 . The only distant-water fishery that showed a 

 significant number of new vessels is the longlining 

 fishery, where 33 percent of the vessels were 0-5 years 

 old. and only 19 percent were more than 20 years old. 



Total ROK catch peaked at 3.6 million metric tons 

 (t) in 1986, and decreased to 3.0 million t in 1991 

 (appendix D). Distant-water catch has occupied a 

 significant proportion of the total catch, ranging from 

 25 percent in 1986 to 29 percent in 1991. Distant- 

 water catch peaked at 930,000 t in 1989, hut decreased 

 in the two succeeding years to 874,000 t in 1991 

 (appendix E). Catch decreased from 1990 to 1991 for 

 North Pacific trawlers, squid driftnet vessels, and tuna 

 longliners, hut increased for tuna purse seiners and 

 squid jiggers (figure 2). Figures for 1993 indicate thai 

 this decreased catch trend is accelerating. ROK 

 distant-water catch decreased 31 percent during 

 January-May 1993 compared to the same time period 

 in 1992.' The most important ROK distant-water 

 fisheries in terms of overall catch are trawlimj, tuna 



purse seining, squid jigging, and longlining. The only 

 two ROK distant-water fisheries which have shown 

 consistent growth since 1985 are the distant-water tuna 

 purse seine and trawler fisheries located outside of the 

 North Pacific. 



A. Trawlers^ 



ROK distant-water trawling began in 1966 wiien 8 

 stern trawlers fished in the Atlantic Ocean. In 

 following years, ROK trawlers expanded their 

 operations to the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. 

 Until 1991, the majority of the ROK distant-water 

 trawler catch came from the North Pacific trawl 

 fishery, which targets Alaska pollock in the Central 

 Bering Sea "donut hole," Japanese waters off 

 Hokkaido, the Russian EEZ, and in the central Sea of 

 Okhotsk "peanut hole." ROK distant-water trawlers, 

 fishing outside the North Pacific, target a wide variety 

 of species, squid being the most important. The 

 number of ROK distant-water trawlers decreased 

 gradually from 233 in 1985 to 219 in 1990. Their 

 number decreased dramatically to 146 vessels in 1991, 

 largely because of tiie poor catch in the donut hole 

 fishery (appendices B and F), 



North Pacific Trawlers: Alaska pollock is by far 

 the most important species caught in this fishery. 

 Before the expansion of fishery jurisdictions to 200 



89 



