TOKYO (AP) - The Japanese coast guard says its patrol boats have been pushing back hundreds of North Korean boats trying to poach in fishing grounds rich with squid off Japan's northern coast.

Coast Guard officials said Tuesday they have forced more than 300 North Korean boats out of Japan's exclusive economic zone near Yamatotai since May.

The patrol boats used water cannons on 50 North Korean boats that ignored warnings.

Coast Guard footage obtained Tuesday showed North Korean crewmen on a wooden boat abandon a fishing rope after being sprayed water.

Japanese authorities have stepped up patrols in the area as North Korean poaching has surged in recent years.

Experts say Pyongyang's campaign to boost fish harvests has increased poaching by North Korean boats.

In this late May, 2019, image from video provided by Japan Coast Guard, Japan Coast Guard patrol boat sprays water to a North Korean fishing boat after the fishing boat didn't ignore the warning to evacuate in the waters near Yamatotai, Japan. Japanese Coast Guard says its patrol boats have been pushing back hundreds of North Korean poachers swarming toward fishing grounds off Japan's northern coast.(Japan Coast Guard via AP)

In this late May, 2019, photo provided by Japan Coast Guard, Japan Coast Guard patrol vessel approaches a North Korean fishing boat to warn them to leave the waters near Yamatotai, Japan. Coast Guard officials said Tuesday, June 18, they have forced more than 300 North Korean poachers out of Japan's exclusive economic zone since May near Yamatotai rich with squid. (Japan Coast Guard via AP)

This late May, 2019, photo provided by Japan Coast Guard shows two North Korean fishing boats leaving the waters near Yamatotai, Japan. Coast Guard officials said Tuesday, June 18, they have forced more than 300 North Korean poachers out of Japan's exclusive economic zone since May near Yamatotai rich with squid. (Japan Coast Guard via AP) </s> The Japanese coast guard says its patrol boats have been pushing back hundreds of North Korean boats trying to poach in fishing grounds rich with squid off Japan's northern coast.

Coast Guard officials said Tuesday they have forced more than 300 North Korean boats out of Japan's exclusive economic zone near Yamatotai since May.

The patrol boats used water cannons on 50 North Korean boats that ignored warnings.

Coast Guard footage obtained Tuesday showed North Korean crewmen on a wooden boat abandon a fishing rope after being sprayed water.

Japanese authorities have stepped up patrols in the area as North Korean poaching has surged in recent years.

Experts say Pyongyang's campaign to boost fish harvests has increased poaching by North Korean boats. </s> TOKYO - The Japanese coast guard says its patrol boats have been pushing back hundreds of North Korean boats trying to poach in fishing grounds rich with squid off Japan’s northern coast.

Coast Guard officials said Tuesday they have forced more than 300 North Korean boats out of Japan’s exclusive economic zone near Yamatotai since May. </s> The Japanese coast guard said Tuesday its patrol boats have been pushing back hundreds of North Korean boats trying to poach in fishing grounds rich with squid off Japan's northern coast.

More than 300 North Korean boats have been forced out of Japan's exclusive economic zone near Yamatotai since May, the coast guard said in a statement.

The Japanese patrol boats also used water cannons on 50 North Korean boats that ignored warnings.

Coast guard footage showed North Korean crewmen on a wooden boat abandon a fishing rope after being sprayed water.

Japanese authorities have stepped up patrols in the area as North Korean poaching has surged in recent years.

Experts say the growing number of poachers may be related Pyongyang's campaign to boost fish harvests to obtain dietary protein as the nation struggles to achieve food self-sufficiency and to overcome health problems caused by poor diets. To reach their quotas, fishermen from the North may be taking more risks and venturing farther from their usual waters, often violating Japan's 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone, experts say.

Fisheries officials have said they believe that scores of dilapidated wooden boats that have washed ashore in northern Japan in a seasonal influx in recent years could be part of those poachers that fail to return home due to accidents or bad weather.

A record 225 of the so-called "ghost boats" washed up on northern Japanese coasts last year, more than twice the number recorded in the previous year, according to the coast guard.

© Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> The Japanese coast guard revealed on Tuesday they have pushed out over 300 North Korean fishing boats attempting to poach squid from within their territorial waters.

Coast guard officials said in a statement that as many as 300 North Korean vessels have been identified and pushed out from within Japanese fishing waters since May. In around 50 cases, Japanese patrol boats deployed water cannons against boats that ignored warnings.

All the reported incidents took place within the 200-square mile Yamatotai fishing region off of Japan’s northern coast, famous for its rich squid population that drives Japan’s fishing industry.

Coast guard officials confirmed that another 225 abandoned North Korean vessels had washed ashore onto Japanese beaches last year, likely a result of accidents or bad weather.

The Japanese coast guard has been forced to increase the number of territorial water patrols in recent years amid a surge in North Korean poaching. Experts believe the surge in poaching is likely an effort by Pyongyang to boost their food harvests to help feed a population that remains chronically malnourished.

A United Nations report released last month warned that North Korea’s economy remained in dire shape as a result of crippling U.S.-led sanctions, leaving citizens to bribe regime officials in order to access basic living essentials. The communist regime strictly regulates the food supply to ensure that those highest in the nation’s songbun caste system do not experience declines in their quality of life, at the expense of everyone else in the country.

“The rights to food, health, shelter, work, freedom of movement and liberty are universal and inalienable, but in North Korea, they depend primarily on the ability of individuals to bribe State officials,” said Michelle Bachelet, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, in her report.

A recent joint report by the U.N. and the World Food Program found that the communist state had been forced to cut food rations after experiencing its worst harvest in ten years.

“This new food security assessment…has found that following the worst harvest in 10 years, due to dry spells, heat waves and flooding, 10.1 million people suffer from severe food insecurity, meaning they do not have enough food till the next harvest,” said WFP spokesman Herve Verhoosel.

Both reports were angrily rejected by Pyongyang, who described them as “politically motivated for sinister purposes”.

“Such reports are nothing more than fabrication … as they are always based on the so-called testimonies of ‘defectors’ who provide fabricated information to earn their living or are compelled to do so under duress or enticement,” North Korean officials said in a statement.

Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com </s> In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, members of the Philippine Coast Guard, left, approach the almost sunken fishing boat of Filipino fishermen who were killed by suspected pirates in waters near Zamboanga City, southern Philippines Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017. Several Filipino fishermen were killed after a group of suspected pirates boarded a fishing boat in southern Philippine waters and strafed the crew, officials said Tuesday. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP) In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, members of the Philippine Coast Guard, left, approach the almost sunken fishing boat of Filipino fishermen who were killed by suspected pirates in waters near Zamboanga City, southern Philippines Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017. Several Filipino fishermen were killed after a group of suspected pirates boarded a fishing boat in southern Philippine waters and strafed the crew, officials said Tuesday. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)

Gunmen in southern Philippine waters killed one crewman of a Vietnamese vessel and abducted seven in what appeared to be the latest attack by pirates in the area, the Philippine coastguard said on Monday. Coastguard and marine soldiers rescued 17 Vietnamese who were part of the 25-man crew of MV Giang Hai, which was attacked on Sunday evening near Baguan Island in Tawi-Tawi, an area close to the stronghold of the notorious Abu Sayyaf militant group.

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An investigation was underway and the coastguard had launched a pursuit in coordination with the military and police, said coastguard spokesman Commander Armand Balilo. Well armed and equipped with fast boats and high-tech navigation devices, the Abu Sayyaf is a stubborn problem for the Philippine military, which has failed to curtail piracy and kidnappings in the area, despite major troop deployments in the in the Sulu Archipelago.

The Islamic State-linked group has been involved in frequent acts of piracy and has beheaded captives when ransom demands have not been met. Before the latest attack, the militants were holding 27 hostages, according to a tally of reports about kidnappings and a few releases.

The captives are Indonesian, Malaysian and Vietnamese seamen, as well as Filipinos, a Dutchman, a German and a Japanese national. A surge in piracy off parts of the Philippines is forcing ship-owners to divert vessels through other waters, pushing up costs and shipping times. President Rodrigo Duterte said last month he had asked China for help in the fight against the militants by sending ships to patrol the dangerous waters.
The Japanese coast guard says its patrol boats have been pushing back hundreds of North Korean boats trying to poach in fishing grounds rich with squid off Japan's northern coast.