This report outlines main recommendations for the South Korean Government and its agencies to enable offshore wind to cohabit with the local fishing industry and to address key concerns of the fishing sector, drawing from successful international case studies.
Overview
Offshore wind (OFW) is a reliable, scalable sustainable source of electricity. The South Korean Government has set a target of reaching 14.3 GW of OFW before 2030, and as of 2023, the country has 140 MW of installed capacity across six windfarms. Despite this ambitious target, commercial development is experiencing delays, due, in part, to opposition from the commercial fishing sector.
Similar challenges have been observed around the world in countries with OFW, providing potential solutions.
In many countries, there are approaches employed by different actors in the OFW development process, such as developers, governments, statutory agencies and bodies to support harmonious coexistence between the two sectors. These include:
- Developing best practices on coexistence through ongoing collaboration and the provision of appropriate forums to enhance such collaboration
- Utilising marine spatial planning to balance interests of multiple sectors
- Developing regulatory frameworks and guidance on acceptable fishing practices compatible with OFW development
- Promoting buy-in through consultations
- Developing regulations to support multi-use options of OFW farms, including for food production, marine ecosystem, restoration, transport storage and others
- The provision of applicable and appropriate compensation schemes
- Involvement of fisheries with employment and service provision opportunities
Based on these approaches, this report outlines main recommendations for the South Korean Government and its agencies to enable of coexistence and to address key concerns of the fishing sector.
