Print 1949-03-24 IPFC Sec III.Tif

6 KOREAN FISHERIES Their present and future by Chyung Moon Ki, Planning Board, Republic of Korea I. OUTLINE In the north, the coastal sea, where flatfish and Korea is a peninsula. It faces, in the east, sole have their gathering grounds, leads to the a deep sea whose greatest depth is 3,712 Ochkotsk Sea, which is one of the three greatest metres and whose tidal range is only about one fishing grounds in the world. In the south, the metre; in most of the eastern sea there flows a cold eastern China Sea, which is west of Cheju Island current. In the western sea, the difference between and into which the Yangtze River drains, contains ebb and flow is about ten metres and the greatest precious trawl fishing grounds. It leads to Borneo depth is only 84 metres. Throughout the coast line, and the Suada Straits, which are the cradle regions long sand beaches and deltas face the famous shallow for tropical fish and reaches the Antarctic Ocean, sea of Whang Hai. In the southern coast, many which is the home of whaling. islands form an archipelago which is most suitable for the growth of marine organisms. Inland, there The coast line is unusually developed. On the are many rivers and streams such as Tuman River main land alone it is 8,693 km. long. Whn the and Yalu River which start .from the Chunji Lake 3,3 05 coastal islands are added, the coast line has a on top of Mt. Paiktoo. There are many dams for length of 17,269 km. Fishing grounds can be found electric power and irrigation purposes. All the in- almost everywhere in the coastal sea of Korea and, land waters provide fresh water for the multipli- except for those of the coast of Wungi, none of the cation of fresh-water fish. In the eastern sea, ports is frozen in winter, and practically all of the where the cold and warm currents meet, a single ports are open for fishing vessels throughout the kind of plankton, which is the food for fish, grows year. If proper measures are taken and processing richly, and such cold current .fish as alaska pollock facilities are provided, the fishery .can be naturally and such warm current fish as pilchard are so richly developed in this region so lavishly provided for produced as to permit one of the highest peaks of fishing. production in the world. In the coastal sea of Though there were such rich grounds for fishiig, Whang Hai where salt and fresh water niix, the the industry could not be developed in the feudalistic extensive tidal sand beach is wide oDen and the period when the people, from their ignorance and organic fertiliser is abundantly produced. Such prejudice, ignored the good grounds and fishermen warm current fish as corvenia, lobster and Ilisha clung to the in-shore grounds without even thinking elongata (a species of herring), and such molluscs as of the oceans. However, from the beginning of the clam (Cytherea meretrix) , Tapes phili~~inarum,and 20th Century, modern scientific technique and octopus (Octopus octopodia or poulpe) find their capital were imported, and the Korean fishery began breeding ground everywhere. In the archipelago to see rapid development. Especially in 1922 when where the proper current receives the organic ferti- the fishing ground for pilchard in the eastern sea lizer poured in from the islands and inland, a cradle was found, and during the ensuing 20 years, that region of propagation of various marine creatures single kind of fish made new record, both in its is formed and such marine plants as dulse, Japanese production and processing, unparalleled in the his- jelly plant (Gellidium unamino) and Gloiopelfis tory of the world. Truly in the 193OYs,the Korean furcata (or Glowpeltis tenux) find one of their fishery met its golden age. In 1939, total produc- richest grounds in the world. As to the inland tion reached 2,621,199 tons, with a value of waters, the Yalu River includes both cold and warm 327,322,568 Won (about U.S. $80 million) : fishing regions and produces richly such delicious fish as 151,098,000 Won; cultured 8,307,876 Won; pro- Yulmagi (Brachymystax lenok) and Sarugi (Thy- cessed 167,916 Won. In that year, the fishery mallus jaluensis) . The Chungchun and Naktong represented 18 % of the whole Korean industry, and Rivers produce Plecoglossus altivelis (a kind of thus it was next only to agriculture, and Korea be- trout). The Keumkang and Y-gsan Rivers pro- came the second fishiig nation in the world. duce their own particular kinds of Chong U (Leiocassis dumerili). Abut 700 kinds of fish are The main marine organisms of Karea include found in Korean coastal seas and inland waters; of about 120 kinds (fish 71 kinds, shell fish 20 kinds, them over 150 are fresh water fish. marine plants 11 kinds, and other 10 kinds); In 1937, the marine products whose value exceeded one In 1939, the amount of exports reached 117 million Won each (about 250 thousand dollars) million Won (about U.S.$28 million at that time) ; were about 2 1 in number, as the following: 28% of the products were exported to Japan. 1. Pilchard 1,206,700 tons 54,780,000 Won After the fishery reached its golden age, strangely enough, from 1941 when the Pacific War 2. Alaska Pollack 269,510 ,, 21,020,000 ,, broke out, the migration of ~ilchard,which occupied 3. Corvenia 78,800 ,, 8,190,000 ,, more than haIf of Korean fishery products was sud- 4. Mackerel 62,260 ,, 8,160,000 ,, denly interrupted. Moreover, Japan, with the motto "Why shall we not use the treasures which have been 5. Laver 2,610 ,, 7,624,000 ,, developed for 36 years?" abolished the laws for the 6. Anchovy 30,040 ,, 5,080,000 ,, protection of fish reproduction and exhausted the marine resources for her war purposes. Thus the 7. Ha$ Tail 44,640 ,, 4,720,000 ,, products gradually decreased, and from 2,046,243 8. Herring 36,670 ,, 4,180,000 ,, tons in 1939 they fell to 1,318,041 tons in 1941, 845,782 tons in 1942 and finally in 1944, fishing of 9. Lobstershrimp 43,120 ,, 3,750,000 ,, pilchard was eliminated. As the war went on, 10. Cod 17,690 ,, 2,450,000 ,, materials were in short supply, the sea was dangerous and the marine resources were decreased because of 11. Sole 11,190 ,, 1,930,000 ,, the unrestricted catching. The total products were 12. HorseMackerel 7,800 ,, 1,740,000 ,, only 690,000 tons in 1944. 13. KoreanDulse 5,150 1,760,000 ,, ,, 11. PRESENT CONDITION 14. Croaker 5,470 9, 1. Amount of products: 1I. U& Kasari (for Agar Agar) 1,050 ,, Since the liberation, Korea has been divided into two parts. The actual condition in North Korea is 16. Porgy 1,930 ,, not known, and no account of the fishery of the 17. Chup Mackerel 2,870 ,, whole of Korea can be given. If we estimate from the evidence in hand, judging from the 268,146 tons 18. Glue Seaweeds 980 ,, of fishery products in South Korea in 1948, the 19. Conger eel 4,910 9, fishery products throughout Korea may be estimated at about 450,000 tons. Thus, it has not reached 20. Flatfish (tongue the previous average record (600,000 tons for the fish, halibut) 3,340 9, whole of Korea, 300,000 tons for South Korea) of 21. Octopus 4,950 ,,. the products. The main cause is the unrestrained fishing, that is no estimate was made each year, after The main processed commodities produced were careful investigation and estimation of whole marine as follows:- resources and the amount of reproduction of the amount of fishing which would not hinder repro- FOR FOOD: duction. If this situation is left as it is, the amount of coastal fishing will gradually decrease. Among 1. Dried Fish 57,040 tons 26,000,000 Won others, the resources of cod fish are being dried up. 2. Salted Fish 61,250 ,, 11,000,000 ,, The products of cod in South Korea were 13,046 tons in 1947, but they were decreased suddenly to 3. Dried ~oiledFish 16,160 ,, 10,000,000 ,, 5,124 tons in 1948. 4. Fishsaltenzimmed 16,030 ,, 5,300,000 ,, CATCH FOR ALL OF KOREA 5. Canned Fish 13,030 ,, 4,600,000 ,, \ (1938 - 1943) FOR OTHER PURPOSES: Year Tons: 1. Fish Fertilizer 262,860 ton 73,830,000 Won 1938 1,596,033 1939 1,901,033 2. Fish Oil, 1940 1,609,494 Fish Bowel 112,130 ,, 31,000,000 ,, 1941 1,189,909 704,662 3, Sea-Weeds 3,690 ,, 36,100,000 ,, 633,107 SOUTH KOREA: A. CATCH, B. PROCESSED COMMODITIES Shell Fish Sea Grasses Other Sea TOTAL Am Gmal fishes Animal and Plants Year Qmantity Price Quantity Price Quantity Price Quantity Price Quantity Price - Quantities are given in tons 00 VI Dried Salted Canned Others TOTAL Year Value Value Value Value Tons Value frr \. VI. Shell Fish The principal species in the above catch Kind are cockle shell, abalone, sea mussel, oyster, topshen, Shark clams and scallops. Tongue fish Mullet Fertilizer, Fats and Oils Sandlance By products output for 1945: Horse Mackerel Corvenia (Cho+) Fresh Fertilizer, 69 m/t Flat Fish Dried Fertilizer, 83 m/ t Pilchard (sardine) Herring By-products, output for 1946: Hair -tail Shad Fresh 1:-ertilizer, 112 m/t Other fishes Fats and Oils 21 m/t The estimated potential production of shellfish 2.. SHELL FISHES is 55,000 metric tons.

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