Abstract
This study aimed to review the reorganization of fisheries and the future tasks in accordance with the establishment of new fishery order in the Northeast Asian Seas. As the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which recognized the sovereign rights of Coastal States in a 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), entered into force in 1994, the three countries of Korea, China and Japan ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1996 and started negotiations to establish a new fishery order consistent with the EEZ system. However, a conflict of interest occurred because of differences in fisheries between countries, negotiations many times have proceeded, resulting in the signing of fishery agreement between China and Japan in 1997, Korea and Japan in 1998, and Korea and China in 2000. Each fishery arrangement consists of a dual system of EEZ and provisional waters (middle waters, provisional waters). The two countries are engaged in mutual fishing based on coastal states in EEZ, and in the fishing operation under the principle of flag state in provisional waters. There are overlapping or ambiguous jurisdictions in the intermediate waters and provisional waters that are jointly available to both fisheries. The presence of these seas is a challenge to the establishment of a reasonable international fisheries management system for the entire Northeast Asian Seas. In this context, the challenges of the reorganization of the new fisheries order are as follows: 1) conversion to a fishery order for coexistence of fisheries, 2) expansion to an international fishery management system, and 3) establishment of a multilateral fishery cooperation system. Although the jurisdiction of their own waters has been expanded through the establishment of EEZ according to new fishery order, the need for mutual cooperation grows when considering the movement and migration of fishery resources, fishery management, fish consumption and trade. In addition to the fisheries cooperation between the governments, it is also necessary to revitalize the civil cooperation focused on fishermen who exploit fishing grounds together.