Despite occasional heavy rains, water temperatures on the east coast of North Gyeongsang Province have been topping 26 degrees Celsius, leading to the deaths of approximately 40,000 to 50,000 fish every day. (Image: Yonhap)
POHANG, Aug. 17 (Korea Bizwire) – An unrelenting heat wave in South Korea that drastically increased water temperatures in recent weeks has resulted in the loss of nearly 1 million fish in waters off the south and east coast, with the toll expected to rise in the coming days.
Despite occasional heavy rains, water temperatures on the east coast of North Gyeongsang Province have been topping 26 degrees Celsius, leading to the deaths of approximately 40,000 to 50,000 fish every day.
According to the Pohang municipal government, over 380,000 fish at 27 aquaculture farms in the neighboring areas of Guryongpo and Homigot had perished as of Wednesday, as the temperature surpassed the recommended 14 to 17 degrees Celsius for the starry flounder.
With flatfish, rockfish and abalone among the most affected, nearly 550,000 fish were reported to have perished over the last two weeks on the east coast of North Gyeongsang Province.
“Though the daily fish mortality rate has dropped to the tens of thousands, we are doing the best we can not to be complacent and prepare for a possible water temperature rise in the future,” an official at the municipal government of Pohang said.
South Gyeongsang Province is also facing similar hardships, as it too has been heavily affected by the recent heat wave that has swept across the nation, reporting losses of 409,000 fish at 36 fishing farms as of yesterday, representing a loss of roughly 560 million won to the local fishing community.
Though the temperatures have gone down as has the mortality rate, local government officials are taking cautionary steps to prevent further damage including providing disease inspections to fishing farms.
“Though the water temperature rise seems to have stopped, the corpses hidden underneath fishing nets and the weakened immune system of some of the fish could see the death toll rise in the meantime,” an official at the South Gyeongsang provincial government said.
An unrelenting heat wave in South Korea that drastically increased water temperatures in recent weeks has resulted in the loss of nearly 1 million fish in waters off the south and east coast, with the toll expected to rise in the coming days. (Image: Yonhap)
Earlier this month, data released by the National Institute of Fisheries Science (NIFS) showed the current average temperature in South Korean waters is two to seven degrees higher than the annual average, even two to three degrees higher than last year when the country was hit by another heat wave.
M.H.Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
