South Korea will seek to sharply increase its goal for fisheries exports in 2012 as overseas demand for them continues to rise, the government said Sunday.

The government is targeting fisheries exports of $2.5 billion for the coming year, up from an estimated $2.2 billion for this year, according to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

The ministry had originally planned to achieve the $2.5 billion mark of fisheries exports by 2014.

The ministry said it has established a task force at the Animal, Plant and Fisheries Quarantine and Inspection Agency to help boost overseas shipments of fisheries goods.

The task force is charged with coping with sanitary measures taken by Japan, the United States, Singapore and other major importers of South Korean fisheries goods, it added. (Yonhap News)