• The Journal of Fisheries Business Administration
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.69-81
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• 2018

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.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.323-333
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• 2005

The paper is to serve as a guide for deciding on a desirable direction for the vessel buyback program, reviewing their performance and economic effects from fish harvest reduction due to not reaching MSY. Compared with maximum willingness to pay for vessel buyback programs designed to avoid economic losses occurring as a result of overfishing, the portions of investment costs for buyback program are so small comparatively to the range of 0.32% to 12.19% at the annual base. The economic loss effects occurred in terms of the reduction of fishing harvest are comprehensively estimated at the present value of 30,877 billion won since 1971, and exceeded the revenues for fish harvests from 1999. In order to resole fish stocks through a vessel buyback program, this paper recommends that the yield should be reduced to less than the intrinsic growth rate. Otherwise, the buyback program policy eventually fails regardless of the temporal effect of benefits. This paper further argues that technical policy tools such as fishing grounds, fishing seasons, size of fish and minimum size of meshes should be effectively utilized.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.25-35
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• 2006

Fisheries buyback programs have been implemented from 1994 in Korea, and its scale is estimated to have a value of 930 billion won, which is compounded for eight years since 1994. The paper evaluates the programs' economic and financial viability, and predicts efficient ways about how much and how long to reduce fisheries vessels so as to pursue a target biomass at MSY, For the specific purpose of the paper, aggregate fisheries stock dynamics and catch functions are specified and estimated by yearly catch and fishing effort data from 1970 to 2001, using ASPIC model and Schaefer's logistic production model. Results show that the fisheries stock in Korea has steadily declined since 1970, and that Korean fisheries overexploitation has steadily increased. Using cost-benefit analysis method, the buyback program holds the economic and financial feasibility even if the scale of buyback programs is not sufficient to avoid the downward trend in fisheries stock and harvest. The potential investment scale is predicted in several alternative scenarios using the sensitivity analysis method. The results recommend the annual reduction of 46%, 12% or 20% for the next one year, five years or three years, respectively so that the target biomass at MSY may be reached in 25 years.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.439-449
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• 2006

This study was aimed at measuring the fishing capacity of Powered Anchovy Drag Net Fisheries (PADNF) in Korea using Peak-to-Peak(PTP) and Data Envelopment Analysis(DEA) methods recommended by FAO. In the analysis, both fishing capacities of total PADNF and individual PADNF vessels were measured with time series data and cross sectional data, respectively. In addition, the results of the DEA measurement were analyzed in order to determine reduction levels of fishing capacity. In case of total PADNF, the results by rn and DEA methods showed a similar rate of capacity utilization (79%), indicating the capacity was not utilized enough. In addition, the sensitivity analysis suggested that the number of vessels should be reduced by 20%, and the gross tonnage and the horse power should be reduced by 20% and 21%, respectively if the current catch is to stay at the 2004 level. The DEA results on individual PADNF vessels indicated the capacity utilization was 75% on average, showing some differences in capacity utilization among vessels (31%-100%). The results of the study would be useful for measuring production efficiency in PADNF. They would also provide good policy information for efficient use of resources and capacity reduction levels, which are useful far vessel buyback programs of coastal and offshore fisheries.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.61-71
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• 2017

This study estimates the cost function through offshore fishery cost data and analyzed the economies of scale of Korea's offshore fishery. For the estimation of the cost function, translog cost function was used, and the analysis implemented the panel analysis of the panel data. Also, annual economies of scale of the offshore fishery and economies of scale of 14 offshore fisheries in 2015 were analyzed using translog cost function coefficient estimation. The analysis result of economies of scale of Korea's offshore fishery showed that with the exception of 2003, economies of scale exist in all periods of time. However, as it almost reaches the minimum efficient scale, it was revealed that further scale expansion will bring inefficiency. Thus, according to the analysis result, Korea's offshore fishery requires a scale reduction policy rather than scale expansion policy, and this seems to coincide with the current government's fishery reconstruction policy and its practice such as the fishing vessel buyback program. The analysis result of economies of scale of each offshore fishery in 2015 showed that economies of scale of each offshore fishery exists with the exception of five trawl fisheries such as large pair-trawl and large otter trawl and large purse seines. This strongly suggests that the five fisheries and Large Purse Seines with non performing economies of scale need urgent scale reduction and should be the first target for the government's fishery reconstruction policy.