Fishery production in 2004 was 2 519 000 metric tonnes (mt) valued at KRW4 730 billion (USD 4 113 million), an increase of 32 000 mt (1.3%) from 2 487 000 mt in 2003, due to increased production in mariculture.

To address chronic overexploitation of marine fishery resources by over-capacity in coastal and offshore waters, a fleet reduction program known as the “General Buy-Back Program”, has been active since 1994.

Moreover, another buy-back scheme, the “Buy-back Program by International Agreements”, was introduced by the “Special Act for Supporting Fishermen Affected by International Fishery Agreements” which entered into force on 7 September 1999, and aimed to compensate fishermen for losses resulting from international fishery agreements, including agreements with Japan and China. In accordance with this Act, the Korean government scrapped 1 328 fishing vessels between 1999 and 2002, for which KRW 866.4 billion (USD 753.3 million) was spent by 2004.