The chief of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives said fisheries should be excluded from the free trade agreement negotiations to cut tariffs between Korea and China.

The duties on fish must be retained to protect the troubled local fishing industry, Lee Jong-koo said in an interview with Yonhap news agency.

Whereas Korea imports frozen fish from the United States and Chile, large amounts of fresh fish can be brought in from China due to its proximity, possibly dealing a blow to the domestic fishing sector.

Korea sees an annual deficit of nearly $800 million on average in marine product trade with China. Korea’s fisheries exports to China amount to about $280 million and imports more than $1 billion on annual average.

China’s fisheries sector is growing fast, accounting for some 63 percent of the world’s marine farm production.

Lee called for stronger criminal punishment of Chinese fishermen caught illegally fishing in Korean waters and the impoundment of their catch.

“Fisheries are already on the verge of depletion along the coasts of China. The haul of fish plunged as China wiped out all the squid from North Korean waters after the two countries signed a fisheries agreement in 2004,” Lee was quoted as saying by Yonhap.

The NFFC chief, who also serves as the chairman of the International Cooperative Fisheries Organisation under the International Co-operative Alliance, stressed the need for stricter rules against waste dumping in the ocean.

Ocean dumping of sewage sludge and livestock manure has been banned starting this year, and disposal of food wastewater in the ocean will be prohibited from next year.

Lee said dumping industrial wastewater and human waste in the ocean must also be banned.

As the NFFC celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, the Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market in western Seoul will be remodeled and equipped with a cold chain system that maintains a given temperature range through storage and distribution of the seafood. It will also have a low-temperature auction field. The market will continue to open during the renovation which will be completed in 2015.

A systematic preventive approach to food safety called Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points will also be applied to seafood traded in the market.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)