Seoul, Tokyo agree to keep fishing quota unchanged for this year

SEOUL, Feb. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Japan have agreed to keep their quotas
on the amount of fish allowed to be caught in their respective exclusive economic
zones (EEZs) unchanged for this year, government officials said Monday.

The agreement to leave the amount at 60,000 tons this year was made between
officials of the two neighboring countries in a meeting held in Seoul from Monday
to Friday last week, according to the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries.
The annual number of South Korean ships permitted to fish in Japanese waters was
reduced from 940 to 900 for this year. The same quotas should be applied to
Japanese ships in Korean waters, the ministry said.
"Japan earlier proposed cutting the size of the fish catch to 52,000 tons and
lowering the number of ships allowed to 574, citing falling resources and an
increasing maritime dispute between the two nations, but we have managed to
reflect our demands in the quota agreement (through negotiations)," a ministry
official said.
Under the agreement, South Korean ships must report to Japanese maritime
authorities six hours ahead of entering their EEZ, compared with the previous
year's requirement of a 12 hour advance report, the ministry said.
The new quotas and other measures will go into effect starting March 1 and will
remain in place until February next year, according to the ministry.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
(END)

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