South Korea lifts hairtail fishing ban, eases 25 fishery regulations

The government will temporarily suspend the hairtail fishing ban to stabilize summer supply of the popular fish. It also plans to ease 25 fishery regulations — including relaxing trap size limits and allowing bycatch — as it accelerates a broader overhaul of the fishery regulatory system.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries convened the Central Fisheries Coordination Committee on Wednesday and announced the selection of 25 projects under the "2026–2027 Fishing Season Fishery Deregulation Pilot Program," along with an expansion of exemptions from closed-season and minimum-size rules for vessels participating in the total allowable catch, or TAC, system.

The fishery deregulation pilot program is designed to improve regulations that are ill-suited to on-the-ground conditions or operationally inefficient. Regulations are temporarily eased on the condition that fishing industry groups comply with TAC limits and accept government monitoring requirements, including continuous operation of vessel location transmitters and electronic catch reporting.

The 25 selected projects are expected to directly benefit about 1,800 fishers.

Key measures include relaxing trap size standards for offshore red snow crab fishing in North Gyeongsang Province, permitting bycatch in anchovy boat seine operations in South Gyeongsang Province, easing mesh size standards for inshore improved fixed bag-net shrimp fishing in Incheon, and relaxing gear specifications for glass eel stow-net fishing in Sinan, South Jeolla Province.

For offshore red snow crab trap fishing in North Gyeongsang Province, trap dimensions will expand from 120 centimeters to 130 centimeters to reflect the characteristics of deep-sea operations. The ministry expects the change to improve work efficiency and operational safety.

Anchovy boat seine operations in South Gyeongsang Province will be allowed to retain bycatch of other species up to 10 percent of total catch. However, participation in a "bycatch bank" pilot program — which uses discarded catch to accurately track bycatch volumes — will be required as a condition.

The government will also expand the existing system that exempts TAC-participating vessels from closed-season and minimum-size restrictions.

Exemptions covering four fishery categories and species will be extended by one year through June 30, 2027. They cover the minimum size for mackerel caught by large purse seine vessels, the minimum size for sailfin sandfish caught by Donghae offshore otter trawlers, the minimum size for pen shells caught by No. 1 and No. 2 district diving operations, and the closed season for red snow crab caught by offshore trap vessels.

With household price pressures mounting, the government is also introducing a new exemption from the hairtail closed season.

The closed season for hairtail fishing under the offshore longline category will be temporarily suspended through June 30, 2027. Hairtail fishing had been prohibited each July in waters north of the 33rd parallel north, but operations will now be permitted during the summer months as well.

The ministry expects the expanded supply of hairtail — a fish in high demand during summer — to help stabilize supply and ease price pressures for consumers.

Observers describe the measures as more than simple deregulation — a signal of a broader shift in fishery management. The government intends to expand a self-management system centered on TAC, moving away from input-based regulations that impose detailed restrictions on gear specifications and fishing periods.

Based on pilot program results, the ministry plans to formally codify effective deregulation measures through legislative amendments and to overhaul the overall fishery regulatory framework in line with the Sustainable Coastal and Offshore Fisheries Development Act, set to take effect in 2027.

"This is a first step toward boldly reforming existing input-based regulations and advancing toward a world-class fishery management system that meets international standards," said Choe Hyeon-ho, director general for fisheries policy at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. "We will continue to push for institutional improvements that provide fishers with a stable operating environment and supply seafood to the public at more reasonable prices."