South Korea and China have agreed on a bilateral fishing pact
extending Korea's fishing rights effective from June 30, Korea's
Ministry of Maritime Affairs & Fisheries said on Friday. Korea
said the agreement was reached in Beijing, ending talks that
began in December 1993. China agreed to allow 1,402 Korean
fishing vessels to catch up to 60,000 metric tons of fish per
year by the end of next year in its exclusive economic zone, the
ministry said. The allowed catch would be similar to Korea's
past fishing record. Under the terms, Only 2,796 Chinese vessels
would be allowed to catch up to 109,600 metric tons of fish per
year by end 2002 in Korea's exclusive economic zone, sharply
down from Chinese past fishing record. It was reported that
approximately 12,000 Chinese fishing vessels used to catch
440,000 metric tons of fish per year in Korea's exclusive
economic zone. The reduction in Chinese fishing activities in
the Korean zone is expected to increase Korea's annual fishing
revenues by over 300 billion won (