North Korean fishing boats recently restarted fishing in the West Sea after a COVID-era ban on their activities was lifted, Daily NK has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a reporting partner in North Pyongan Province told Daily NK on Tuesday that fishermen in Cholsan County and elsewhere restarted fishing in the West Sea in early May.
Fishing was banned after North Korea closed its borders in January 2020. The ban forced fishermen to pursue other lines of work to make ends meet. The lifting of the ban has led to a flurry of activity at the country’s state-run fisheries.
That being said, fishermen are restricted to fishing under the auspices of state-run fisheries and banned from making their own money by selling fish to buyers in China. This means that fishermen are not making as much money from their work as they were prior to the pandemic.
Fishermen can sell shellfish to Chinese trading companies for RMB 10 (USD 1.41) a kilogram, but shellfish sold for domestic consumption nets only RMB 3 or RMB 4 (around 0.40 – 0.60 cents) a kilogram.
Many fishermen are complaining that there is not much of a catch because they have so little netting, and with nowhere to sell to, they are just struggling at sea for nothing, the reporting partner said.
He said that many fishermen are hoping that the government quickly relaxes regulations so they can operate in small-scale work units, and smuggle their catches into China.
During the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, North Korea confiscated small privately-owned fishing boats, placing them under the management of fisheries.
As a rule, the North Korean government does not permit individuals to own boats. Before the pandemic, however, some members of the country’s wealthy entrepreneurial class, or donjuLiterally "masters of money," donju refers to people who hav... More, purchased small-scale boats and, after simply registering them with fisheries, operated them as private fishing vessels. These fishing entrepreneurs earned profits by selling some of their catch to Chinese trading companies.
However, under the pretext of stopping smuggling to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the North Korean government confiscated small privately operated boats and, to this day, small fishing boats are forbidden to engage in fishing activities.
In fact, multiple Daily NK reporting partners have confirmed that no fishing boats smaller than 20 tons have been seen in the waters off Cholsan County.
“Fishermen working for fisheries don’t make money,” a reporting partner in South Pyongan Province told Daily NK. “Fishermen will only be able to make ends meet if [the government] allows small boats to go to sea like in the old days.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of reporting partners who live inside North Korea and China. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
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