North Korean seafood products are on sale at a marketplace in Yanji, a city in China’s Jilin province, in July 2018. (Daily NK)Blue crab prices along North Korea’s west coast have plunged to unprecedented lows during the peak fishing season, threatening the livelihoods of fishermen who once depended on the lucrative catch.
A source in North Pyongan province recently told Daily NK that the owners of fishing boats engaged in fall crab fishing around Sonchon county, Cholsan county and Tasa Island in Yomju county are struggling to cover expenses, let alone make a profit, due to the plummeting crab prices this year.
“Crab prices have always been lower in the fall than in the spring. But this year, prices have dropped from the typical level of $10 per kilogram to just $3. Crab boat owners say they can’t afford to feed their workers at that price,” the source said.
Crab fishing is generally considered a reliable source of income in North Korea. But with prices plummeting this year compared to normal years, few people in the industry expect to make much this year.
The source said crab prices have been depressed by falling prices in the Chinese market. “Since most of the crabs caught here are exported to China, crab prices are affected by the Chinese market.
“Good quality crabs are immediately handed over to Chinese merchant ships at sea. The only crabs that can be seen in the marketplaces here from time to time are those that are too small and pitiful to be exported.”
The owners of North Korean crab fishing boats, who usually have permits from the authorities, sign contracts with Chinese investors. The boats receive fishing equipment and food for the crew during the fishing season and are paid when they deliver their catch.
The Chinese investors pay the boat owners for the crab catch based on the price they offer. But the price they offered this year was so low that the boat owners are unlikely to make a profit.
Another reason for the drop in the price of crabs is that North Korean seafood, which is on the list of North Korean products sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council, cannot be sold openly in marketplaces.
Under these circumstances, North Koreans who turned to crab fishing as a source of income this fall are expressing their worries and concerns.
“Since the west coast of North Pyongan province is rich in crabs, many people sign up to work for three months in the spring and two months in the fall. These people are usually promised 100 Chinese yuan ($14) a month, along with room and board, and the fishing boat owners throw in a bonus if the catch is good and the profits are high,” the source said.
“A lot of people sign up for the crab boats hoping for a big bonus if there’s a good catch. A lot of people were really hopeful about their prospects this year, but with crab prices dropping, people are worried they won’t get their promised pay, let alone a bonus. People are saying they’d be happy to get even half of what they were promised.”
The Daily NK works with a network of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For security reasons, their identities remain anonymous.
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