The Sociopolitical Economics of Marine Ranching Program in Korea

This paper aims at overviewing Korean fisheries profile with a view on why Korean fisheries need marine ranching program as a new fisheries paradigm - a community-based co-management approach and drawing some policy implications from the advanced experience in fisheries. The aims of community-based co-management approach as a planned approach can be set out under the planning objectives of efficiency and equity. In this context Tongyeong marine ranching program is an important government-sponsored pilot enterprise. Experiences in the advanced fisheries such as Canadian Snow-Crab case suggest that in order to be successful for marine ranching be successful it is necessary that (i) there should be high-value species, (ii) property right should be established, (iii) there should be the reasonable number of participants involved, (iv) the participants and the government should be able to share resource enhancement/management/utilization responsibilities and associated fisheries management expenses. Among these, management cost sharing based on the practical partnership between fishing communities and government is of particular importance because the government must have a full responsibility for all ranching program expenditure unless revenues sufficient to guarantee reasonable income and to share management cost are generated from the ranching business.