This year’s squid catch in North Korea is
said to be exceptionally good, sending not only residents who live by the East
Sea but also those from other regions out fishing, Daily NK has learned.
“The temperatures in the East Sea have
climbed rapidly, so the battle for squid has started a lot earlier than usual,”
a source in North Hamkyung Province told Daily NK. “In time for this, fishing
villages on the eastern coast are bustling with local fishermen as well as
people from other regions.”
He added, “Everyone has jumped at the
opportunity because they believe squid is what feeds people in the country and
that a missed opportunity will surely ruin them. Places in South Hamkyung
Province such as Sinpo and Danchon, as well as fishing towns in North Hamkyung
Province have been flooded by people from Pyongyang, Nampo, and Sinuiju.”
Back in February, the country’s National
Defense Commission handed down a mandate, banning Chinese pair trawling, a problematic practice creating disastrous effects for North Korean fisherman. Now, according to the source, pair-trawlers
from China are nowhere to be seen, leading him to project a spike in exports to China upon the increase in North Korean fishermans’ catch.
“Residents from farming villages in North
Pyongan Province’s Sinuiju or Chongjin in North Hamkyung Province have been
selling their homes to procure fuel and supplies to try to make big returns on
squid fishing or they’ve been borrowing money with high interest rates in the
20 to 30 percent range,” the source said.
“This is why they see this squid fishing season
as a period that will determine their livelihoods, and they’re putting up a
battle.”
Following orders from Kim Jong Un to
‘provide more fish for the people this year’ surveillance on fishing at sea has
become much more relaxed. With this, the number of people lining up to receive
permits for fishing from the State Security Department has been soaring,
according to the source.
The influx of people may also have to do
with the severe drought that has hit the country. Many feel the fate of their
families depends on this year’s squid catch, with others expressing concerns of
being cast back to the ‘Arduous March’ [North Korea’s widespread famine of the
mid-1990s] if the drought presses on unabated.
Last year, North Korean officials tightened
controls on fishing for most people, plunging many into debt and
resulting in the loss of their homes. In severe cases, these beleaguered
residents saw no other solution but to take their own lives.
