BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The marine law enforcement agencies of China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) have conducted their first joint patrol of 2021 in waters tentatively designated by the China-ROK Fisheries Agreement.

A fleet, comprised of one vessel each from the China Coast Guard (CCG) and its ROK counterpart, patrolled a distance of 715 nautical miles over a period of 105.5 hours between April 20 and 26, according to the CCG.

During the patrol, which was based on the consensus reached at a China-ROK meeting on fisheries law enforcement in 2020, the two sides shared working information via radio and exchanged opinions on deepening cooperation.

The fleet observed and recorded 172 fishing boats, and dealt with two fishing boats suspected of violating regulations.

In the next step, the two sides will step up maritime law enforcement cooperation to jointly safeguard the fishing production order in the designated water areas, the CCG said.