A study on the necessity and feasibility of Recreational Fishing license System in Korea

낚시면허제 도입의 필요성과 실현 가능성에 대한 고찰

As of late, people who enjoy fishing as a pastime in Korea has dramatically increased on the back of the increased national income and 5-day working system being in place. In the past, people used to fish in inland waters, but fishing on the sea has also shown a steady increase. The expanded fishing community along with increasing types of fishing, however, led to destruction of ecosystem by littering the waters of both inland and sea with wastes and reckless exploitation of fish resources. Fishing activities are usually taking place in inland waters, or on the sea, which is, by definition, a common property, and side effects such as free riding and diseconomy are frequently observed occurring. In other words, everyone can use the property free of charge(except paying fishing lot), and littering the waters with pollutants and wastes stemming from fishing activities is currently rampant. In this context, this paper studies the necessity of introducing fishing license system and its feasibility in Korea from a perspective to improve the national welfare through policy measures based on 'polluter pays principle' to prevent further environmental pollution in the fishing lot and preserve fishery resources. Study shows that introduction of Recreational fishing license system is urgently needed, but it is concluded that it should take more time to implement the system so as to accomodate the differing interests of all parties involved including recreational fishing industry, while strengthening public relation activities to solicit for the people's understanding of the system to be introduced.