Highest damage to aquaculture in coastal waters of South Korea

The article highlights the anticipated largest-ever loss in the aquaculture industry this summer due to unprecedented high water temperatures, with over 44 million fish and 4,000 sea squirt lines already dead. This trend, linked to global warming and water temperature changes since the mid-2010s, has resulted in 194.1 billion won worth of damages over the past 13 years, representing 60% of the total. In response, the South Korean government has developed a plan and revised manuals, while also exploring temperature-tolerant breeds. However, the low subscription rate for agricultural and fishery disaster insurance raises concerns about the industry's resilience and the need for more proactive measures. The article calls for increased government transparency and more active farmer involvement to face these challenges.

This summer, the scale of damage to the aquaculture industry is expected to be the largest ever due to the unprecedented high water temperature phenomenon. According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, as of September 20, the scale of aquaculture farm deaths was calculated to be 44 million fish and about 4,000 lines of sea squirts (1 line is about 142,000 fish). The exact scale of damage will be confirmed later, but based on the total deaths so far, the damage is expected to be the largest ever. The trend of high water temperatures along the coast of Korea has been predicted to cause damage to aquaculture organisms due to changes in the aquaculture environment and abnormal water temperatures since the mid-2010s, along with global warming. The uncertainty of the aquaculture industry due to rising seawater temperatures is an unavoidable reality. The total damage to aquaculture due to natural disasters over the past 13 years (2011-2023) was 326 billion won, of which 194.1 ...