"Stop the Sea Desert" Busan Gijang Marine Ecology Restoration Operation Begins

Gijang-gun Launches Development of 'Ecological Platform' to Prevent 37% Marine Desertification Crisis
Marine Ecology Technology Institute and SBB Join Forces... "Stopping Gaetnogeum"

Conceptual diagram of the coastal ecological platform development research promoted by Gijang-gun, Busan.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Operation name, ‘Stop the Sea Desert’! A research project to restore the marine ecosystem threatened by {$_coastal seaweed die-off along the coast of Gijang, Busan, has been launched.

The Gijang Seaweed Breeding Convergence Research Center has started research to develop an ecological platform and verify its effectiveness to restore the resilience of the marine ecosystem threatened by {$_coastal seaweed die-off and to recover the health of the coastal ecosystem.

Sea forests serve as habitats for marine organisms, purify pollutants, reduce greenhouse gases (CO2), and provide sources of wellness foods and useful functional substances. They also function as a clean bioenergy source and play a very important role as primary producers in marine ecological cycles to maintain a healthy coastal ecosystem.

However, currently, coastal waters are experiencing the disappearance of large seaweeds that inhabited coastal rocky areas due to excessive coastal development, environmental pollution, increased grazing animals, and climate change, with cement-like encrusting coralline algae covering the rocks, causing desertification. This phenomenon is called {$_coastal seaweed die-off, where the sea turns into a desert.

As of 2018, the area affected by {$_coastal seaweed die-off nationwide was 12,907 hectares, 45 times the size of Yeouido, indicating a significant scale of damage. The die-off is rapidly spreading from the southern coast of Jeju Island to the East Coast.

The development of the ecological platform was jointly selected as a new project under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries’ 2020 Marine Industry Demand-Based Technology Development Project, ‘Marine Industry Commercialization-Linked Technology Development,’ by Gijang County, the Marine Ecology Technology Research Institute, and SBB. The project aims to develop ecological structures to enhance marine ecosystem resilience based on plant-based binder technology and to develop ecological platform construction technologies tailored to coastal characteristics, to be carried out through 2021.

The Gijang Research Center has a mass production base for seaweed seed production, the Marine Ecology Technology Research Institute possesses technology related to coastal wetland restoration and holds 46% of domestic patents related to Zostera beds, and SBB has technology for constructing coastal protection structures based on plant-derived binders.

The collaboration among the Gijang Research Center, Marine Ecology Technology Research Institute, and SBB is expected to contribute to healing damaged ecosystems and restoring coastal ecology by realizing the development of a new concept of optimized eco-friendly seaweed attachment substrates and ecological platform construction technologies suited to coastal characteristics.

A representative of the Gijang Research Center stated, “The marine ecosystem is suffering due to climate change, and about 37.1% of the Gijang coastal waters are experiencing {$_coastal seaweed die-off, making urgent measures necessary to maintain a healthy ecosystem,” adding, “We will devote efforts to developing ecological platform construction technologies suitable for the waters to ensure sustainable marine fisheries.”

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