*********** 070894B.BIO *********** Countries: South Korea, China, Russia From: Foreign Broadcast Information Service FBIS-EAS-94-085 3 May 1994 p. 39, 42-43. KEYWORDS: South Korea, China, Russia; Fishing, Fishing rights, Fish products +++++ Four items about South Korean Fishing Industry: 1. IMPORTS OF 46 MARINE PRODUCTS TO BE LIBERALIZED SK2604081494 Seoul YONHAP in English 0617 GMT 26 Apr 94 [Text] Seoul, April 26 (YONHAP) The government announced Tuesday a plan to liberalize imports of 46 marine products over the next three years which will be submitted to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) this week. Under the plan, the govemment will liberalize imports of frozen Alaskan pollack fillets from Jan. 1, 1995, those of frozen sharks, salted shrimp and three other products from July 1, 1995, those of frozen Alaskan pollack from Jan. 1, 1996, those of frozen sauries and 15 others from July 1, 1996, and exports of the remaining 23 items including frozen yellow corvinas, eels and hair-tails from July 1, 1997. In addition to the scheme, the govemment has also decided to advance import liberalization for angler fish and two others from 1997 to 1995, the announcement said. The govemment has already liberalized imports of 302 of the 348 marine products and has now decided to free up imports of the remaining 46 products in three stages over the 1995-97 period. South Korea graduated from the GATT balanceof-payments clause in October 1989 as its balance of international payments went into the black, and promised the GATT that it would liberalize imports of 279 farm and marine products between 1992 and 1997. The govemment will liberalize imports of all these products by July 1, 1997, except for beef and live cattle, agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry officials said. END Item 1. 2. PRC PATROL BOATS SEIZE TWO ROK TRAWLERS SK3004122794 Seoul YONHAP in English 1124 GMT 30 Apr 94 [Text) Pusan, April 30 (YONHAP)-Chinese patrol boats seized two South Korean dragnet fishing boats and took away one boat and 22 fishermen on Friday. When the No. 2 Songgwang-ho, 98 tons, was under repairs in the seas about 220 miles southwest of Cheju Island around noon, a Chinese patrol boat seized it and whisked its Skipper Sin Hyon- pok, 43, and 10 fishermen to the patrol boat to tow the empty boat to China, the No. I Songgwang-ho, a sister boat of the seized one, cabled to the Pusan Marine Police Saturday. The Chinese boat gave up the No. 2 Songgwang-ho, cutting the rope, when the sister boat chased it, the cable said. Another Chinese boat also seized and took away the No. 27 Taehung-ho, 123 tons, with I I crewmen, including Skipper Pak Hong-yang, 40, aboard, in the open seas 175 miles southwest of Cheju Island about the same time when it was adrift owing to engine trouble, according to the Pusan Marine Police. Although the No. 2 Songgwang-ho was caught in an area believed to be China's territorial waters, the No. 27 Taehung-ho was seized in open seas and this is expected to cause a diplomatic row between Seoul and Beijing, the police said. +++++ END Item 2 3. PRC OFFICE REPORTEDLY DEMANDS MONEY SK0305115394 Seoul YONHAP in English 1100 GMT 3 May 94 [Text] Pusan, May 3 (YONHAP)-A local Chinese Fishery Office continues to hold 22 South Korean fishermen as hostages in its attempt to obtain money from Korea. An official at the Taeyang Fishery Co. here, to which part of the captured fishermen belong, said Tuesday the Fishery Administration Office in Luxi, Jiangxi Province of China was demanding money in retum for the release of the fishermen without reporting the case to higher authorities. Eleven of the 22 fishermen being unlawfully held in Luxi were the crew members of Taehung-ho No. 27 caught by a Chinese patrol boat in the high seas 175 miles southwest of Cheju-do last April 29. The 11 others were the crews of Songkwang-ho No. 2 also seized by a Chinese patrol vessel the same day roughly in the same area. The official said a message from Taehung-ho No. 28, a sister boat of the seized Taehung-ho No. 27, indicated that the Luxi Fishery Office forced the hostages to tell Taehung-ho No. 28 in telex to go back to Korea and bring 50,000 dollars. Chinese officials threaten that unless the money is given to them, they would handle the captured fishermen according to law, the official said. Luxi fishery office people even intimidate the hostages into surrendering all the moncy they have, he said. Taehung-ho No. 28 which was near the scene of the seizure, followed the Chinese patrol boat carrying the captured fishermen all the way to just outside the territorial waters of China and has been staying there. The Luxi fishery office was making a similar demand toward the 11 fishermen of Songkwang-ho No. 2, a source said. +++++ END Item 3 4. RUSSIAN FISHERMEN UNDERCUTTING ROK FISH INDUSTRY SK0205013894 Seoul YONHAP in English 0111 GMT 2 May 94 [Text] Seoul, May 2 (YONHAP) The South Korean deep-sea fishing industry is being threatened by fishermen from the former Soviet Union and their cheap catches, the Korea Maritime and Port Administration (KMTA) said Monday. A KMTA report said that in the fishing grounds of New Zealand, Tahiti and Australia, former Soviet fishermen are making inroads into major areas and selling their catch at half the price charged by their Korean counterparts thanks to low labor costs. Fishermen from the former communist bloc earn less than I 00 U.S. dollars a month, under one-14th the starting salary of 1,400 dollars for Koreans. Captains from the former Soviet Union are paid no more than 150 dollars, even less than the montly 500- dollar pay of Indonesian fishermen. In order to increase their catch and save costs, Korean fishing boats have decided not to return to port unless bad weather or ship problems arise. To save docking time, they are being supplied with food and drink by freight boats, a KMTA official said. Adding to their problems, Korean fishing vessels will likely find it difficult to gain longer periods at sea from bases like New Zealand, which are demanding that their nationals be employed as sailors. Korehqs prefer not to employ them, however, as they refuse to work longer hours. Four Korean fishing companies operate in New Zealand and 10 in Tahiti. Industry sources predict encroachment by fishermen from the former Soviet Union in other areas like Spain as well. Japanese fishermen, hit by declining profitability caused by high labor costs, are selling their ships and retuming home. +++++ END Item 4 ************** END Msg. B.BIO **************