South Korea is aiming to give its fishing industry a fresh lease of life.
The government has devised a ten-year action to counter the decline in young people entering the industry and make it more sustainable.
Oh Soo-young reports.
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced a plan Wednesday to turn South Korea's ailing fishing sector into a 89-billion-dollar industry by the year 2030.
Finalized at a ministerial meeting, the plan is a response to a decline in the number of people working in fishing... and the sector's growing shortage of young people in particular.
The goal of the ten-year roadmap is to boost livelihoods and create 40-thousand new jobs by building prosperous fishing communities.
This involves a drive to renovate some 80 ports and harbors in the country... starting this year,... and by 2022, to modernize 300 fishing towns and ports.
The trade and science ministries will also join in... to develop technologies that can increase fisheries production in a smart and eco-friendly way.
A management system for coastal fishing will also be established,...as will more effective ways to prevent the overfishing of certain species... and illegal fishing.
By creating a sustainable flow of production and consumption,... the government will also nurture 100 local companies with the aim of creating some 3-point-four billion dollars worth of fisheries exports.
With the plan, the government hopes to raise the industry's total annual revenue from the 59 billion dollars recorded in 2016 to 89 billion dollars by 2030.
Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.
