South Korea's imports of Norwegian mackerel rose 73 percent in the first six months of this year from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday, as the Asian country banned catches of mackerel in its waters for one month during the first half.

South Korea imported 10,751 tons of mackerel from Norway in the January-June period, compared with 6,199 tons during the same period last year, according to data from the Norwegian Seafood Council.

South Korea caught 28,687 tons of mackerel in the first five months of this year, down 40.4 percent from a year earlier. The decline appears to be blamed on a month-long ban on catches of mackerel during the first half.

The Norwegian Seafood Council said on its website that South Korea and Japan were the most important markets for its mackerel in the first six months. (Yonhap)