The reorganization of the Korea Coast Guard should be the start of a more rigorous policing of our waters against illegal fishing by the Chinese.

Illegal fishing in the West Sea is at its height ahead of the December to March ban on catching blue crabs. According to the Korea Coast Guard in charge of the West Coast, some 2,000 to 3,000 unlicensed Chinese boats are illegally fishing within our Exclusive Economic Zone. Using banned fine dragnets, they are virtually wiping out the fry as well. Korean fishermen have reported their fishing gear and nets being destroyed by the Chinese.

The worst-hit area is off Incheon where groups of 500 to 700 Chinese vessels fish together, posing a formidable threat to Korean fishermen as well as the Coast Guard, which has brought in fleets from the East Coast to respond to the growing problem.

The Chinese vessels, equipped with radar to track the movements of the patrol boats, are getting increasingly difficult to nab, according to the Coast Guard.

The mounting problem led to the Korean government announcing a set of strong measures aimed at curbing illegal fishing in Korean waters by the Chinese. The government said that it would seek an amendment to the law concerning the Korea-China fishing agreement to allow the Korean authorities to confiscate and destroy seized unlicensed vessels.

The growing violence of the fishermen resisting the authorities’ law enforcement efforts was also addressed in the measures unveiled on Thursday. Helicopters, special forces and 3,000-ton vessels will form rapid deployment teams dedicated to cracking down illegal fishing by the Chinese. While this sounds more like a military operation than a patrol operation, the recent violent incidents involving Chinese fishermen resisting the Coast Guard’s attempts to board suspected boats necessitate such strong-arm measures.

The reorganization of the Coast Guard under the newly established Ministry of Public Safety and Security ― which was previously affiliated with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries ― following the Sewol disaster in which the Coast Guard, much to its ignominy, was unable to rescue a single passenger trapped inside the sinking ferry, affords the organization a chance to start anew.

Some fishermen who operate in the West Sea blame the shake-up of the Coast Guard for encouraging illegal fishing by the Chinese. Now that the organization has been revamped, the Coast Guard should prove its mettle as the country’s maritime law enforcement authority by vigorously enforcing the law within our EEZ and protecting Korean fishermen and their properties.