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The Chinese fishing boats brought to Yeonpyeong Island by South Korean fishermen

Fishermen from Yeonpyeong Island, near the city of Incheon, seized two Chinese fishing boats that were illegally operating around the Northern Limit Line (NLL).

The fishermen argue that their actions are justified by the legal category of “self-help,” since neither South Korea‘s coast guard or navy were able to stop the Chinese fishing ships whose illegal fishing is depleting the blue crab fishing grounds.

after they were operating illegally around the Northern Limit Line on June 5. (by Kim Bong-kyu

But South Korean authorities have launched an investigation because of concerns that the fishermen may have crossed the NLL, the risk of a military confrontation with North Korea and diplomatic friction with China.

At 5:23 am on June 5, two Chinese fishing boats were at anchor 0.3 nautical miles (556m) south of the NLL and 0.5 nautical miles (926m) north of Yeonpyeong Island when five fishing boats from Yeonpyeong Island attached ropes to them and towed them to the island. While there were 11 Chinese sailors aboard the two fishing boats, they were all asleep at the time, so there was no physical altercation.

“For the past few years, we have been asking the navy and the coast guard to deal with the problem of illegal operations by Chinese fishing boats. But the numbers of these boats has jumped while our catch has continued to drop. We had no option but to try capturing the Chinese boats ourselves. We plan to keep doing this in the future if the government doesn’t deal with the illegal fishing problem,” said Seong Do-gyeong, 49, head of the fishing association on Yeonpyeong Island.

after they were operating illegally around the Northern Limit Line on June 5. (provided by Incheon Coast Guard)

In May 2005, 30 fishing boats from the island seized four Chinese fishing boats that were operating illegally and handed them over to the South Korean Coast Guard. Taking into account the fact that the Yeonpyeong Island fishing boats had captured the Chinese fishing boats red handed, the coast guard booked the Chinese fishermen but not the island fishermen.

“The waters where the Chinese fishing boats were captured is south of the NLL, but South Korean fishing vessels aren’t supposed to be operating or navigating in those waters, either. We’re investigating the matter since it appears that the fishermen suddenly sailed North to capture the Chinese fishing vessels,” South Korea‘s Coast Guard said.

The island vessels that captured the Chinese fishing boats were some of the 19 vessels that set sail at 4:53 am on Sunday, after receiving permission to depart from the commander of the Yeonpyeong Island marine detachment at 4:50 am.

When the island fishing vessels abruptly swung north on Sunday morning, the South Korean navy dispatched four patrol ships and three speed boats to the NLL out of concern for a clash with the Chinese fishing boats or military action by North Korea, while the coast guard also sent two patrol ships and one speed boat filled with commandos.

Local fishermen’s concerns are growing about Chinese fishing boats that lurk around the NLL, avoiding South Korean patrols and catching large amounts of blue crabs in their dragnets. The blue crab catch this April was 171,024kg, down 77.7% from the 766,353kg caught last April.

During the spring fishing season in 2013 - from April to June - 15,560 Chinese fishing boats were detected on the South Korean radar network in the waters around the NLL in the West (Yellow) Sea. This number increased to 19,150 (an average of 212 a day) the following year, during the 2014 spring fishing season, and 29,640 (an average of 329 a day) in 2015. In other words, the number of Chinese fishing boats doubled in just two years.

South Korea’s Ministry of Public Safety and Security has decided to convene an emergency meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other related government agencies for a detailed discussion of the problem of Chinese fishing boats operating illegally around Yeonpyeong Island and the question of how to prevent such incidents from reoccurring.

By Kim Gi-seong, south Gyeonggi correspondent

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]