This Year, a 'Sea Forest' 9.5 Times the Size of Yeouido Will Be Created

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 27th that it will invest 56 billion won this year to create sea forests covering 2,768 hectares, which is 9.5 times the area of Yeouido.

Since 2011, the Ministry has been implementing fishery resource creation projects every year that reflect the characteristics of each sea area and aquatic organisms to restore seas devastated by climate change and resource overexploitation and to contribute to increasing fishermen's income.

This year, to realize the national agenda of "Clean Seas, Abundant Fishing Grounds," five projects will be promoted: sea forest creation and management, spawning ground and habitat creation, coastal sea ranch creation, fish seed management, and natural salmon spawning ground creation.

First, to revive seas desertifying due to the phenomenon of seaweed bleaching, seaweed and marine plants will be planted to additionally create sea forests at 21 locations covering a total of 2,768 hectares. Furthermore, the proportion of natural rock formations will be increased during sea forest creation, and the use of eco-friendly materials will be expanded.

To restore resources such as octopus, flathead fish, and snow crab, which are facing depletion and decline, 11 natural spawning grounds and habitats will be established based on the ecology and fishing ground information of each species. Additionally, the coastal sea ranch creation project, which installs facilities where fish and other marine life can gather and live underwater, will continue, with plans to create 14 coastal sea ranches this year as well.

Along with this, to create a healthy marine ecosystem, the management of genetic diversity of major released species will be strengthened. To this end, the number of species subject to genetic diversity investigation and management will be expanded to 12, and genetic information data will be established to analyze the effectiveness of release projects.

For the conservation of salmon resources returning to Korean rivers, a natural salmon spawning ground will be created in Yangyang, Gangwon Province. This year, a suitable site will be selected based on river ecological environment surveys, and detailed design will be promoted after reviewing related laws and regulations.

Choi Yong-seok, Director of Fisheries Resource Policy at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said, "As nearshore resource quantities decrease, active fishery resource creation efforts are needed in addition to reduction, closed seasons, and size limits." He added, "We will continue to expand and strengthen fishery resource creation projects to establish a sustainable utilization base for fishery resources."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.