We developed an ecosystem indicator (EI) for the coastal and offshore areas of Korean waters. One of the major scientific challenges of this undertaking was to translate broad policy statements for ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) into practical terms. Fish reproduction potential (FRP) was defined as an EI to describe the reproductive probability of adult fisheries resources in Korean waters. The FRP was estimated as the ratio of adult fish composition to total catch, catches (in metric tons) by species and by ecosystem, and fishery effort (in horse power per metric ton). The FRP indices of the East/japan Sea Ecosystem (EJSE), Yellow Sea Ecosystem (YSE), and East China Sea Ecosystem (ECSE) began to decrease after the mid-1980s, and the current indices have decreased further, at 0.63 (EJSE), 1.22 (YSE), and 0.68 (ECSE) index points compared to the indices of 1975, when similar catch amounts were recorded. Lower FRPs in the Korean marine ecosystems were the result of higher proportion of immature fisheries resources in the total catch. Because this kind of ecosystem-level indicator is thought to reflect scientific approaches to EBFM and to provide an important tool for assessing the current status of marine ecosystems with respect to both quantity and quality, more EIs should be developed for Korean waters.