This study was attempted to solve the problem that the current training is not consistent with the actual working environment of the fishing vessel, even though the advanced fire extinguishing training for international fishing vessels is mandatory. As a result of the survey, the lack of timely use of fire extinguishing equipment and the difficulty of organizing the fire extinguishing organization were found, and the main problems were analyzed as low understanding of fixed fire extinguishing facilities, low awareness of fire-related laws and regulations, and inefficiency of fire extinguishing training. It was found that the current Seafarers Act does not clearly define the roles and responsibilities of advanced fire extinguishers, and lacks specific standards for designated educational institutions, so there is a problem that the accuracy and reliability of the training contents with the STCW-F Convention and STCW Convention are inconsistent. In addition, it has been confirmed that the fire extinguishing organization, internal communication, and fire extinguishing training in ships, as stipulated in international agreements, are not properly reflected in the domestic curriculum. In particular, the current training consists of general contents that do not take into account the characteristics of fishing vessels, so there is a lack of practical emergency response fire extinguishing training manuals. Therefore, this study proposes the development of customized training content for fishing vessels considering the special working environment and risk factors of fishing vessels based on international agreements, and emphasizes the need for policy support, such as strengthening participation of fishing vessels in education and training, and establishing a legal basis for the operation of emergency fire extinguishing organizations.

This study aimed to enhance the operational efficiency and safety of offshore eel trap fisheries by developing six types of automated fishing equipment: a bait crusher, bait cutter, main line arranging device, trap cleaning device, eel sorting device, and fish pump system. Sea trials demonstrated that the bait crusher and bait cutter significantly reduced manual labor and processing time while maintaining bait quality. The main line arranging device improved productivity and safety by automating the sorting of looped cords. The trap cleaning device effectively removed fouling organisms using high-pressure water and rotating brushes. The eel sorting device enabled automatic size-based selection, improving resource management and operational efficiency. The fish pump system transferred eels rapidly with minimal physical damage, reducing unloading time by over 80% and decreasing labor requirements. A satisfaction survey of fishery participants confirmed that all developed devices were highly effective in reducing workload, enhancing safety, and improving operational performance. The automated equipment developed in this study is expected to contribute to the sustainable management of offshore eel trap fisheries and to offer potential applicability to other coastal and offshore fisheries.

This study examined the offshore eel trap fishing process using one year of fishing logs and fishermen’s insights to identify key operational challenges and propose equipment improvement for greater efficiency and safety. Conger eel catches varied significantly by season, depth, and temperature, peaking in winter at 85–90 m and 23°C. The western waters of Jeju Island were identified as a major fishing ground, with the highest catch recorded in November and the lowest in July, reflecting seasonal trends. Each fishing operation deployed about 10,000 traps, with an average loss of 38 traps, posing economic concerns. The process involved intensive manual labor in bait preparation, trap retrieval, catch separation, line loading, and unloading, leading to high physical demands and safety risks. To address these issues, the study proposed automation through the development of a line loading device, trap cleaning device, bait processing machine, and automatic catch separator. These innovations could reduce the labor force required by one to two workers per process, alleviate workloads, and enhance resource management. By integrating quantitative logbook analysis with field-based knowledge, this study offers practical value. Further research is recommended on automation development, cost-effectiveness, and field validation to support safer and more sustainable eel trap fisheries.

This study attempted to solve the problem that the current education does not match the actual working environment of the fishing vessel despite the mandatory lifeboat training of international fishing vessel. The survey analyzed the difficulties of using life rafts and communication facilities and found that the main problems were the launch of life rafts, lack of communication equipment proficiency, and absence of emergency training scenarios. Due to the lack of standards for designated educational institutions, the current Seafarers Act has been discovered to be a problem that the accuracy and reliability of education are not consistent with the international fishing vessel agreement and the merchant vessel agreement. Additionally, the training for retreat and emergency response as stipulated by international agreements were not properly reflected in the domestic curriculum. In particular, the current training consists of general contents without considering the characteristics of the fishing crew, and there was a lack of practical emergency response training manuals. Therefore, based on international agreements, this study proposes the development of customized training contents for fishing vessel that takes into account the special working environment and risk factors of them. In addition, it emphasizes the need for policy support, such as strengthening participation of fishing boats in education and training and establishing a legal basis for the operation of emergency life raft organizations.

This study attempted to solve the problem that the current safety education contents of Korean fishing vessels are not consistent with the STCW-F Convention and do not properly reflect the actual operating environment of the fishing vessels. Despite the reinforced duty of safety education for fishing vessels after the Ferry Sewol accident, the problem has been pointed out that the effectiveness is still low due to merchant-oriented education contents and uniform education methods. Therefore, this study compared and analyzed laws related to safety education for fishing vessels and the STCW-F Convention, and derived improvement measures by collecting voices from the field through a survey of fishing vessels. As a result of the study, it was confirmed that the current fishing vessel safety education does not take into account the reality of fishing such as fishing vessel type, navigation distance, and ship output, and that the core curriculum required by STCW-F Convention is omitted. In addition, it was found that education content on major accident types that frequently occur along the coast was also insufficient. In order to improve this, this study proposes to re-establish the target of safety education for fishing vessels based on STCW-F Convention related to fishing vessels, and to prepare a segmented education system by reorganizing the training contents to suit reality. In addition, the need to clearly distinguish the education of merchant and fishing vessels through the revision of the Seafarers Act and the Ship Employees Act was suggested, and to establish a safety education system for fishing vessels that meets STCW-F Convention and domestic conditions.

To analyse and review the fishing performance and species composition according to the size of the entrance and mesh of the pot in the southern coastal waters (Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do and Yeosu, Jeollanam-do), the experiment in this study caught one class, eight orders, 17 families, 23 species, 662 fishes, and 99,833 g. The largest number of fish species was Conger myriaster (301 fishes caught) accounting for 45.5%, followed by Octopus vulgaris (152) accounting for 23.0%, Charybdis japonica (45) accounting for 6.8%, Sebastiscus marmoratus (43) accounting for 6.5%, and Parapercis sexfasciata (42) accounting for 6.3%. Conger myriaster, Octopus vulgaris, Charybdis japonica, Sebastiscus marmoratus, and Parapercis sexfasciata accounted for 88.1% of the total catch. For other fish species, 68 fishes of 18 species were caught, accounting for 12.5% of the total. As a result of the total catch survey, the catch rate of Conger myriaster was the highest at 50.9% in B. 22 mm/280 mm. In addition, the average total length per fish increased as the entrance size increased. The weight ratios of Conger myriaster, Octopus vulgaris, and other fish species based on the total weight caught in each pots of the six species of test fishing gear are as follows. A pots 66.6%, 26.5%, 6.9%, B pots 57.2%, 24.5 %, 18.3%, C pots 43.2%, 31.5%, 25.3%, D pots 7.4%, 56.7%, 35.9%, E pots 43.6%, 0%, 56.4%, and F pots 5.0%, 79.6%, 15.4%.

This study conducted a marine experiment to improve the fishing system using miniaturized nets for anchovy boat seine to reduce the fleet size. As a result, the miniaturized net for anchovy boat seine properly opened the entrance of the bag net using the buoyancy of the flotation for position indication and the setting force of the ground rope without operating a separate fish detecting boat by attaching a large flotation at the entrances of the inside wing net and the bag net. This also enabled an operation type where the entrance of the bag net is confirmed using a flotation for position indication from a netting boat. The time and the number of people used for net casting and net hauling in the marine experiment were average of five minutes and 25-30 minutes, respectively, and 23-30 people for the existent net, while for the miniaturized large-scale net were average of three minutes and 23-25 minutes, respectively, and 19-25 people. This indicates that the operation time was shortened, the number of fish detecting boats was reduced by one boat, and the number of people for fishing work was decreased by four or five people due to the improvement of fishing operation system according to the reduction of fishing net size. As a result of measuring the shaft horsepower during net towing, the maximum net towing horsepower was 250 HP in comparison to the maximum RPM of the engine (1,200 RPM), indicating that the legal horsepower of 250 HP is enough to conduct net towing and the competitiveness of fishing using the net for anchovy boat seine is ensured through operation cost reduction.