Illegal fishing – Koreans violate Japanese territorial waters

ATV reports on the growing problem of South Korean vessels that are illegally fishing in Japanese territorial waters:
South Korean fishermen have depleted their own coastal waters, so now many are sneaking into Japanese waters to catch more crabs and eel. Some are caught and have to pay fines, but the rewards are so great that they just go back and continue their illegal activities.

Japanese coast guard vessels can easily spot buoys that fishermen usually use to mark the location of traps, so the Korean fishermen use their GPS systems instead. There are also fishermen who sometimes cut or abandon their nets in order to quickly flee from authorities. This creates a risk that they may be lost and become “ghost fishing nets,” which do considerable environmental damage.
The area shown in the news report is off the coast of Shimane Prefecture, a poor area of Japan with little industry other than fishing. The illegal activities of South Korean fishermen and South Korea’s refusal to abide by a 1999 agreement to allow Japanese fishermen into the waters around the Korean-occupied Liancourt Rocks have made the local government very frustrated. Under these circumstances, Shimane has been quite vocal regarding the territorial dispute with Korea.
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