SEOUL, March 1 (Korea Bizwire) — A recent study has provided scientific proof that reckless overfishing was the main cause behind the extinction of sea lions on South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo.
According to a study conducted at Pusan National University, the number of sea lions was estimated to have plunged to 8,500, less than 30 percent of the initial number of 30,000, eight years after Japan started to hunt and capture them in 1904.
Reckless overfishing continued even after that, and eventually, the number of sea lions slid to 790 in 1930 and 227 in 1940.
Sea lions have not been seen in the wild since their existence was unofficially identified in Hokkaido, Japan in 1974.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declared in 1994 that sea lions went extinct.
Image Credit: Flickr / Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries / photonews@koreabizwire.com
