NAGASAKI -- The Japan Coast Guard on Sunday seized two South Korean fishing boats within Japan's exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan some 30 kilometers east of Kamitsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture.
Coast guard officials said they captured the 79.94-ton Hwa Young and 59-ton Dong Jin, both with crews of eight, and arrested the captains of the two vessels, 39-year-old Lee Myong Gyu and 42-year-old Chong Mun Sik, for illegally operating within Japan's zone.
The two boats are suspected of catching sea eels and other fish with trawl nets outside allowed waters, the officials said.
The Hwa Young was loaded with some 30 kg of sea bream and sea eel, while the Dong Jin had a load of some 300 kg of mostly sea bream, they said.