Around 100 South Korean and Swedish maritime officials and experts will gather this week for a forum to explore ways to curb illegal fishing, South Korea's oceans ministry said Monday.

During the four-day forum set to kick off Tuesday, officials from the governments and major international organizations, such as the International Maritime Organization and the Food and Agricultural Organization, and maritime experts will discuss ways to better implement international agreements on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and to cooperate among related entities against such threats.

The forum was organized jointly by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the World Maritime University in Sweden in accordance with the memorandum of understanding the two sides clinched in June with a goal to boost their cooperation in dealing with illegal fishing, according to the ministry.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is one of the major threats to marine ecosystems due to its potent ability to undermine national and regional efforts to manage fisheries in a sustainable manner, as well as efforts to conserve marine biodiversity, experts said. (Yonhap)