Abstract
The fishing vessel buyback program, that is, the project of fishing vessel reduction is a complex challenge that needs to take into consideration for both fishing resource protection and industrial restructuring. By the way, the fishing vessel buyback program in Korea is still poorly fruitful and there are few applications for the project in the country. For example, the buyback program of this nation has some problems like uncertainly set goals, conflicts among targets, no flexibility in the program implementation, low participation in the project and lack in follow-up actions. To solve these problems, this study offers the following alternatives. First, it is setting up detailed targets for fishing vessel buyback. Those targets should be what can be actually driven under policy support, such as reduction in illegal fishing, decrease in an exact number of fishing vessels and decline in fishing capacity rather than what seem to be comprehensive such as protection of coastal or offshore fishery and industrial restructuring. Second, it is taking measures for the livelihood of those who would face disadvantages due to fishing vessel reduction. Those measures providing or supporting the re-education and re-employment of fishery workers and building up systems that help the workers transfer fishing to another job. Third, it is adopting the governance system that overcomes lacks in communications between the fishing vessel buyback program and improves the performance effectiveness of that program. Here, governance means that businesses and authorities concerned in the program interact and cooperate with one another in making and implementing policies related to the project of fishing vessel reduction and assessing the results of that project. Fourth, it is taking actions for fishery reorganization after the fishing vessel buyback program. Factors that can be considered as those actions include supporting fishery workers' cost of fishing vessel reduction, decreasing and modernizing fishing fleets and improving the quality of fishing equipment. In conclusion, the fishing vessel buyback program should be prepared with comprehensive actions or measures that can cope well with a variety of problems that may be arisen from it while keeping itself on the track of its original goals.
