South Korea's Yonhap News Agency has reported that the country's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will push to expand the use of aerial drones to monitor illegal fishing and marine littering.
The ministry plans to have a fleet of 500 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by 2022.
Three drones will be deployed to monitor illegal fishing activities in 2019 as part of operational trials.
The goal is to have UAVs with greater range by 2022.
Test programs will be conducted next year in the ports of Busan, Incheon, Mokpo, Ulsan, and Yeosu. Fifty drones are expected to be in service by 2020.
