Illegal Chinese fishing in Seoul waters total 4600 cases over past decade

The number of illegal fishing cases by Chinese boats in South Korean waters reached over 4,600 over the past 10 years, the government said Monday. As of the end of last month, the number of Chinese boats seized or punished for illegal fishing in South Korean waters came to 266 this year. The number for the past 10 years has reached 4,605, according to the related data from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Out of the total, 3,228 cases involved violations of fishing agreements between South Korea and China with the number of Chinese boats cited for entering South Korean waters without a permit coming to 1,062 since 2004. With a growing number of Chinese boats seized for illegal fishing, the amount of bonds paid by seized Chinese ships has also reached some 10.3 billion won (US$9.6 million) as of the end of last month, breaching the 10 billion mark for the third consecutive year since 2011, showed the data submitted to an opposition lawmaker for parliamentary inspection. The data also showed the number of South Korean officials injured or killed while supervising Chinese boats fishing illegally in South Korean waters has reached 69 as of last month.