Fishing vessel owners in the Jeju region have recently formed the Jeju Fishermen's Offshore Wind Damage Countermeasures Council to actively respond to offshore wind projects being pursued by Jeju Province.
About 70 fishermen from various regions within the province held a founding ceremony at the Jeju City Fisheries Cooperative fish market's local fishermen's association.
The vessel owners are concerned that they have been excluded from offshore wind projects being pursued by Jeju Province across various regions, and that the loss of fishing grounds will cause significant damage to their fishing operations.
Exclusion from decision-making process
Kang Yong-ju, chairman of the Jeju Fishermen's Offshore Wind Damage Countermeasures Council, said: "In other regions where offshore wind power projects are being pursued, a public-private consultative body is formed to discuss matters together with local residents, fisheries cooperatives, vessel owner associations, experts and other public interest members. Jeju Province does not do this. Wind power plants are sprouting up across Jeju waters, yet the vessel owners who depend on Jeju's seas for their livelihood and conduct fishing operations are excluded, which is why we formed this damage countermeasures council."
In fact, Boryeong City and Taean County in South Chungcheong Province, Incheon, and Gunsan City in North Jeolla Province form public-private consultative bodies when pursuing offshore wind projects to gather opinions and discuss the scale of damage compensation. Boryeong City has 29 members and Taean County has 18, according to reports.
The public-private consultative bodies formed by local governments in those regions include government members (local government officials), private members (fishing industry workers and resident representatives), public interest members (recommended by government members), and expert members (from the developer side, without voting rights).
Notably, the public-private consultative bodies include various vessel owners who conduct fishing operations based on the sea. Boryeong City, Taean County, and Incheon allow vessel owners who conduct fishing operations in those regions' waters regardless of their registered residence to receive damage compensation resulting from offshore wind power projects. It is reported that in Jeju, even those with registered addresses outside the province are included in the damage compensation scope if they can prove they conducted fishing operations in those waters.
Concerns over operational impact
Fishermen are particularly concerned that when offshore wind farms are established, fishing zones will disappear, forcing them to travel farther to fish, which will inevitably cause conflicts among fishermen and affect safety.
Chairman Kang said: "Jeju fishing vessels conduct operations across all Jeju waters and also around Chuja-do. If wind power plants are established there, damage to fishermen is expected. Vessel owners conducting fishing operations across the entire Jeju region should also be included in the damage compensation scope."
Jeju vessel owners plan to hold a press conference and begin full-scale activities going forward.
Original Korean article: Jejudominilbo
English brief by Korea Wind Intelligence, koreawindintel.com
