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China, ROK Hold 21st Annual Meeting of Joint Committee on Fisheries

Source:MARA Date:2021-11-25

The 21st annual meeting of the China-ROK Joint Committee on Fisheries was held via video in early November, 2021. China and ROK signed a minutes at the end of the meeting.     

The two sides reviewed the implementation of the bilateral fishery agreement in 2021 and held in-depth consultations on issues such as relevant arrangement for entry into each other’s exclusive economic zones (EEZs) in 2022, maintaining order in fishing activities, and conserving fishery resources. In addition, the two sides agreed to strengthen the supervision over fishing operation in waters specified by the agreement, crack down on illegal fishing, and conduct resource conservation and evaluation in provisional measure zone (PMZ).  

The two sides agreed that 1,300 fishing vessels (transport vessels excluded) will be allowed to enter into each other’s EEZs, and the quotas for fish catches will remain unchanged at 56,750 tons in 2022.      

The China-ROK Fisheries Agreement which came into effect in 2001, is the first provisional arrangement to regulate fishing activities in the Yellow Sea, a traditional fishing ground for both China and ROK, in the absence of maritime boundary delimitation between the two countries. Under the mechanism of China-ROK Fisheries Agreement, the two sides hold annual meeting of the China-ROK Joint Committee on Fisheries, negotiating relevant issues and making arrangement.  

This year, China and ROK have held a high level dialogue on fisheries, an expert panel discussion on maritime resources, a meeting on law enforcement, two rounds of preparatory meetings, and a joint fish release event.   

The Chinese delegation was composed of representatives from the MARA, the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the China Coast Guard, the Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, and the China Fisheries Association.  

Relevant Annexes: