S. Korea joins int'l sustainable fishing pact

SEOUL, Nov. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has joined an international pact that aims
to enforce sustainable fishing practices in the South Pacific, government
officials said Monday.

Last week, 23 countries including South Korea adopted the Convention on the
Conservation and Management of High Seas Fisheries Resources in the South
Pacific. It calls to establish a body that will work to preserve non-tuna fishery
resources, Seoul's agriculture ministry said.
"The convention, if ratified by all the member countries, will oversee the single
largest fishing ground ever created," a ministry official said. He added that the
pact will cover waters from Australia to South America, with the exception of
exclusive economic zones administered by sovereign states.
The envisioned body -- to be named the South Pacific Regional Fisheries
Management Organization -- is to put limitations on total fish caught and keep
track of all commercial fishing operations in the area. The 23 countries also
include the United States, China, Australia, Chile, France and New Zealand.
It may take two to three years for the convention to become fully binding, as
each country will have to complete its own ratification process, the ministry
said.
In 2008, South Korea operated three fishing trawlers in the region and caught
10,473 tons of mackerel.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)