[2026 Parliamentary Audit] "South Korea and China Have the Same EEZ Catch Quotas, but China Catches More Than 16 Times as Much"

Rep. Kim Seongyo raises issue at Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee audit
As of August this year, China caught 12,758 tons, compared with 782 tons for South Korea
"Measures are needed, including reducing the number of Chinese vessels permitted to enter based on actual fishing activity"

It has been pointed out that despite South Korea and China agreeing to the same number of fishing vessels and catch quotas in each other's exclusive economic zones (EEZs) under their bilateral fisheries agreement, a persistent imbalance remains in actual fishing activity. As of August this year, China’s catch in the EEZ was more than 16 times that of South Korea.

Kim Seongyo, a People Power Party lawmaker on the National Assembly’s Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee, announced the findings on October 12 after analyzing a report submitted by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries titled “Mutual Fishing Activity in EEZs Since the South Korea-China Fisheries Agreement Took Effect.”

According to the report, as of the end of August this year, the two countries had agreed to allow 1,150 vessels and 55,750 tons of catch each in their respective EEZs. However, only 115 South Korean fishing vessels operated in China’s EEZ, an entry rate of 10.0%, and their catch totaled just 782 tons, or 1.4% of the quota.

By contrast, 824 Chinese fishing vessels entered South Korea’s EEZ, an entry rate of 71.7%, and caught 12,758 tons, or 22.9% of the quota. By catch volume, the difference was 16.3-fold.

There was also a wide gap in cumulative fishing activity in each other’s EEZs from the agreement’s entry into force in June 2001 through August this year. Of the 36,696 South Korean vessels agreed upon, only 13.6% (5,002 vessels) entered the other country’s EEZ. Their catch was also just 74,543 tons, or 4.8% of the 1,548,500-ton quota.

During the same period, 34,090 Chinese vessels entered South Korea’s EEZ, representing 81.1% of the agreed 42,018 vessels. Their catch reached 981,318 tons, or 57.5% of the quota, about 13.2 times South Korea’s catch.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries explained the gap in fishing activity between South Korea and China, saying, “We believe demand among South Korean fishers for access to China’s EEZ is low because the fishing is less profitable than the costs, including fuel, involved in operating far from shore.” It added, “When negotiating the number of vessels permitted to enter each other’s EEZs through the South Korea-China Joint Fisheries Committee, we plan to continue reducing the number of Chinese vessels authorized to fish in South Korea’s EEZ and their catch quotas, and to work to address the imbalance in fishing activity.”

Kim said, “Even though the two countries have the same quotas, the catch rate for our vessels was just 1.4% as of August this year.” He added, “We need to develop measures, such as reducing the number of Chinese vessels permitted to enter based on actual fishing activity, to protect resources in our EEZ and ensure substantive fairness.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.