Jindo-gun Faces 100% Mortality Risk of Capsized Livestock Due to Heavy Rain... 25.1 Billion KRW in Damages

Heavy Influx of Freshwater Due to Torrential Rain... Mass Mortality of 14.3 Million Abalones at 76 Fish Farms

A large amount of freshwater flowed into the sea due to heavy rain, causing the death of 14.3 million abalones. (Photo by Jindo-gun)

[Jindo＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] Due to heavy rainfall, a large amount of freshwater flowed into the sea at once, causing massive abalone deaths in Jindo-gun, resulting in damages worth 25.1 billion KRW.

According to Jindo-gun on the 19th, a record-breaking 504mm of heavy rain fell from the 3rd to the 6th, and the scale of abalone deaths, presumed to be caused by low-salinity stratification, has been investigated as 14.3 million abalones farmed in 16,000 cages across 76 fishing households as of the 19th.

Abalone farms in the fishing cooperatives of Jeondu, Cheongryong, and Sanwol villages in Jindo-eup experienced concentrated abalone deaths, prompting the National Institute of Fisheries Science Namhae Fisheries Research Institute to recently visit the site to identify the cause of death.

Additionally, Jeollanam-do Province and Jindo-gun have surveyed the fishermen's damages, and the National Institute of Fisheries Science is collecting dead specimens to analyze the cause.

Fishermen stated, “In the case of abalone deaths caused by low-salinity stratification due to heavy rain, it takes a long time to visually confirm the damage,” adding, “The total scale of deaths is expected to increase over time.”

A representative from the National Institute of Fisheries Science Namhae Fisheries Research Institute, who visited the abalone death damage site, explained, “Since low salinity has persisted due to heavy rainfall, continuous deaths are expected, so periodic monitoring such as farm inspections is necessary.”

A Jindo-gun Fisheries Support Division official stated, “The damage survey due to heavy rainfall is being expanded to cover all aquatic products including abalone, sea mustard, shrimp, and flatfish.”

Meanwhile, as further damage is expected, Jindo-gun has proposed to Jeollanam-do Province and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to provide national subsidies not only for a maximum disaster support fund of 50 million KRW per fishing household but also for cage damage fish seed and juvenile stocking costs, as well as for the installation costs of descending nets to prevent damage.

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