SOKCHO, Nov. 16 (Korea Bizwire) – Minke whales are often referred to as the ‘Lotto of the Sea’ among fishermen in South Korea. In recent days, a series of cases have been reported where minke whales, incidentally caught in waters off the east coast city of Gangwon, were sold for tens of millions of won. Under [...]
ULSAN, March 22 (Korea Bizwire) — “Though whale meat that is illicitly procured and sold is thought of negatively by South Korean consumers, they buy it without having the means of confirming whether the meat has been gotten through legal channels.” Bradley Tatar, a professor at UNIST and the first non-Korean scholar to analyze Ulsan’s [...]
POHANG, South Korea, March 23 (Korea Bizwire) – Although poaching whales is illegal in South Korea, exceptions are made for incidental catch of the sea mammals, including minke whales. According to the Cetacean Research Center, 352 minke whales were caught in South Korean waters from 2012 to 2016 as a result of incidental catch. The [...]
SEOUL, May 26 (Korea Bizwire) – Korean poachers have been relentlessly pursuing minke whales, called the ‘Lotto of Oceans’ by fishermen, due to the stratospheric prices they often fetch – a single minke whale can sell for between 30 million won and 60 million won. Market prices for minke whales have skyrocketed since 1986, when the [...]
SEOUL, May 19 (Korea Bizwire) – For the first time in history, Korean researchers have analyzed the correlation between minke whale DNA and microsatellites (DNA sections in which genetic bases repeat two to six units and increase the likelihood of mutant genes), and have discovered the reason why large mammals are less susceptible to cancer. [...]
SAMCHEOK, Korea, Jan. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — A 5.9 meter long and 3.2 meter wide minke whale weighing 2 tons was found dead, stranded in a fishnet in the East Sea 19 kilometers from land in Wondeok-eup, Samcheok City, Kangwon-do on January 20. The whale was sold for 48 million won (US$ 44,138) on consignment. The minke [...]