Chinese boats using fake certificates to fish in Korean waters

At 7:40 a.m. on Nov. 26, a 500-ton fishery patrol ship of the West Sea Fisheries Supervision Office under the Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry checked a 219-ton Chinese fishing vessel in waters 70 kilometers northeast of Daeheuksan Island off South Jeolla Province.

The Chinese ship had no permit to fish in Korean waters, with the captain claiming that he forgot the permit when his ship left a port in China.

A patrol ship member asked the owner of the Chinese vessel to fax the permit to the ministry, and the document was "normal." The Chinese ship was released after a security deposit of 150 million won ($12,959 U.S. dollars) was left for having caught more fish than allowed.

At 1:50 p.m. the following day, the patrol boat encountered another Chinese fishing boat with the same name in waters off 43 kilometers northwest of Gageo Island off Shinan, South Jeolla Province. The boat had an authentic certificate allowing it to operate in Korean waters, but was not the same vessel checked the previous day.

While the first boat had 14 crew members, the second had 19 crewmen aboard. The two ships not only looked different but also had different crew. The first boat had committed a violation punishable by a fine of up to 70 million won (60,475 dollars), but had escaped Korean waters.

The fisheries office said Sunday that it has captured 123 Chinese fishing boats this year, excluding 38 unauthorized vessels, for failing to present permits or improperly keeping fishing logs. Certain ships are likely to have used counterfeit permits or used the name of other boats that had permits.

peneye09@donga.com