Emergency on Tuna Fishing

There is a special alertness on tuna fishing industry, which is the biggest export item among the sea products.

The establishment of a committee on the tuna fishing, which will be very disadvantageous to the fishing countries, is pursuing in the Western and Central Pacific area where Korea fishes 97 percent of its yearly tuna fishing (510 million dollar). Moreover, Korea is facing a crisis to lose the whole fisheries of the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean, the biggest tuna fisheries in the past.

According to the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) announced yesterday that the 16 island countries of the Western and Central Pacific, such as Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Samoa, established the Multilateral High Level Conferences (MHLC) on Western and Central Pacific Tuna Fisheries and urged the major fishing nations, including Korea and Japan, to enter into its agreement.

This agreement contains crucial articles that violate the sovereignty of the fishing nations and the island countries can exclusively control the major decision making of the MHLC.

Twenty countries, including Australia and the U.S., already signed the agreement and are persuading Korea and Japan, who voted against the agreement, to join. After visiting Japan, the U.S. Advisor Tuker Skully visited and had a meeting with an official of the MMAF on Dec. 1st.

While the Korean government decided its policy that it will not sign the agreement without the revision of the crucial articles, the circle of the deep sea fisheries industry worries that the rejection of signing would influence on the tuna fishing in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the island countries.

The MHLC agreement will take effect one month after when it is approved by the governments of three nations located north of 20 degrees north latitude (Korea, Japan, China, America and Canada), and seven states south of that line. Even though Korea, China, and Japan will reject to approve the agreement, three years later the agreement will automatically take in effect after six month from the date of the 13th countries` approval.

The MMAF posted a report on Friday that Korea is likely to face the crisis to lose the whole northern bluefin tuna fisheries of the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean as a result of the general meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) through the MMAF`s website.

According to the report, the ICCAT decided to change the fishing quota based on each country`s fishing data. It introduced the agenda that will drastically cut down Korea`s quota for the northern bluefin tuna to 50 ton for next four years from present 619 ton while it proposes the increase of all other member nations` quota. The negotiation was broken off by a Korean veto.

An official of the MMAF said, "If Korean tuna fishing boats do not work again in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean in 2002, it will be hard to exercise Korea`s veto anymore."

The MMAF plans to persuade the tuna industry circle for the fishing of northern bluefin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean. But the fishing possibility is very low due to its unprofitability.

An official of the MMAF added, "The profitability of a fishery changes with time. But if a nation loses its quota, it is hard to regain the quota later."

Cheon Kwang-Am iam@donga.com