North Korea forces fishers to surrender 80% of catch

North Korea forces fishers to surrender 80% of catch

Fishers operating out of Chongjin in North Hamgyong province are struggling to make ends meet during the peak squid season after the state expanded mandatory catch quotas, requiring registered fishing vessels to hand over 80% of their haul to state-run fishery management offices. The squeeze is severe enough that crew members working pre-dawn shifts at sea are sometimes returning with fewer than five squid to show for their labor. A source in No…