Fisheries output in South Korea is on the rise.
According to the latest government data, output from the East Asian nation leaped to 11.9 percent year-on-year for the first half of 2015, due in part to more fish being caught from coastal waters and increased aquafarming productivity.
Statistics Korea data showed that fisheries production amassed to 2 million tons during the January-June period, a step up from the 1.8 million tons acquired during the same timeframe in 2014. What’s more, the percentage of fish caught in coastal waters climbed by 14.3 percent year-on-year, while the number of fish produced by way of aquafarming rose by 16.5 percent. Conversely, fish caught in international waters or those thought to have been acquired in another country’s exclusive economic zones shrank by 3.9 percent, reported the Yonhap News Agency.
As for the total value of South Korea’s fisheries output, it remains in line with last year’s numbers, down just 1 percent to KRW 3.3 trillion (USD 2.8 billion; EUR 2.4 billion) from KRW 3.4 trillion. The statistics office attributed the value dip to the fact that more inexpensive fish were being sourced from coastal waters, and the significant drop in tuna and Antarctic krill catch obtained by South Korean fishers.
