{"id":38835,"date":"2018-12-26T21:26:43","date_gmt":"2018-12-26T12:26:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?p=38835"},"modified":"2020-01-17T09:07:12","modified_gmt":"2020-01-17T00:07:12","slug":"the-sacrifices-of-north-koreas-fishermen-what-drives-them-out-to-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/the-sacrifices-of-north-koreas-fishermen-what-drives-them-out-to-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"The sacrifices of North Korea\u2019s fishermen: What drives them out to sea?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Chart titled \u201cIdentification of wooden boats of presumed North Korean origin;” Bottom (from left to right): “Empty vessels found on Japanese coast,”” “bodies found on Japanese coast,” provided by the Japanese Coast Guard, and “survivors found on the Japanese coast.” Data: Daily NK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to the Japanese Coast Guard, a total of 104 North Korean \u2018ghost ships\u2019 washed up on Japanese shores in 2017, the highest number since record keeping began in 2013. Additionally, in 2017, the bodies of 35 fishermen were found either in the boats or nearby, also the highest number on record.<\/p>\n

The trend has continued into 2018. By May this year, 42 presumed North Korean fishing boats had washed up on Japanese shores, as well as a total of nine bodies. Ishikawa Prefecture, on the central coast of Western Japan, has seen the most wrecked ships and bodies.<\/p>\n

Shikata Takahumi, who researches maritime issues for the Maritime Academy of Ishikawa, has been investigating why this particular region has been on the receiving end of so much wreckage from the fishing boats. \u201cIn recent years, the currents haven\u2019t changed, so blaming the increased number of shipwrecks on the sea would be implausible,\u201d he asserted, discounting any theories that it might be a natural anomaly that has brought on the recent phenomenon.<\/p>\n

Lacking a scientific explanation, our reporting team turned to those who know the industry best, the fishermen of Ishikawa, who have seen a rise in North Korean boats in\u00a0 the fertile fishing grouds of Yamatotai, located within the the Japanese Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).<\/p>\n

The issue of presumed North Korean boats and bodies washing ashore has now come to the forefront for local governments. Normally, when boats are washed ashore, they are handled by fisheries agencies or the port authority at the prefectural or local level. If bodies are found, then the police or Coast Guard must handle the autopsy and formal investigation. At the conclusion of the investigation, the local authorities are responsible for performing burial rites.<\/p>\n\r\n