November 27, 2003

South Korea Is World's 12th Largest Producer of Marine Products

South Korea is the world's 12th largest producer of marine products, according to a survey released by a U.N. agency Thursday.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said that South Korea accounted for 2.28 million tons, or 1.8%, of total marine products in the world in 2001.

Last year, this figure shot up to 7.8% from 2.12 million tons, though South Korea remained in the same ranking.

China took the top spot with 42.58 million tons, an increase of 2.4% from 2000, followed by Peru (8 million tons) and India (5.97 million tons), the report said.

According to the survey, the worldwide catch of herring, sardine and anchovy declined, while that of mackerel and pollack increased.