수산부산물법 적용대상 지정의 법제적 문제점과 입법적 개선 방안

As global resource depletion and environmental pressures intensify, policy transitions toward circular resource management are accelerating, and this trend has emerged as a significant issue in the fisheries sector. In response, Korea has implemented the Act on the Promotion of Recycling of Fishery By-Products since 2022. The Act has institutional significance in that it incorporates fishery by-products that were previously treated primarily as objects of disposal under the Wastes Control Act into an independent management domain and institutionalizes a management framework premised on recycling. The current legislation broadly defines fishery by-products as bones, fins, viscera, shells, and other materials incidentally generated in the processes of capture, harvest, aquaculture, processing, and sale of fishery products. However, the scope of application under the Act is limited to the shells of certain shellfish, leaving various fishery by-products with substantial resource recovery potential outside the institutional management framework. This study analyzes the generation volumes, recycling rates, and import–export status of fishery by-products, and examines the main contents and structural characteristics of the Act on the Promotion of Recycling of Fishery By-Products. Based on this analysis, it compares relevant domestic and foreign legal frameworks to identify the legal issues embedded in the current designation system for applicable fishery by-products and proposes legislative improvements.