Chungnam Cheonsuman, Release of 'Young Saejochae' to Create High-Income Fisheries Resources

A handful of young surf clams to be released into the Cheonsuman surf clam habitat is held in the hands of an official from the Chungnam Fisheries Resources Research Institute. Provided by Chungnam Province

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] High-value aquatic resources are being created and managed in Cheonsuman, Chungnam.

The Chungnam Fisheries Resources Research Institute announced on the 11th that it released about 500,000 juvenile pen shells in Cheonsuman.

The release of juvenile pen shells has been carried out since 2019 with the aim of restoring coastal aquatic resources and increasing fishermen's income.

About 300,000 juvenile pen shells were released in 2019, about 500,000 last year, and about 500,000 this month.

The juvenile pen shells released this month are 1 to 3 cm in size and were produced by managing fertilized eggs of parent pen shells caught in Cheonsuman last April for three months using a mass artificial hatching technology developed by the institute.

Separately from the release project, the institute has been monitoring the water quality and sediment environment of the pen shell habitat in Cheonsuman quarterly since 2020.

The results obtained in this process are used for research on the range of pen shell habitats and for selecting the optimal release locations.

In particular, the institute confirmed that about 30% of the genes matched between 250 pen shells caught at five points in Cheonsuman in February and March and the juvenile pen shells released last year through genetic testing. This indicates that the released juvenile pen shells have grown and increased the population.

Based on this, the institute plans to continuously promote research on fishery development and aquaculture technology to increase pen shell resources in the future.

Jeon Byeong-du, director of the Chungnam Fisheries Resources Research Institute, said, “With the establishment of the Fisheries Seed Research Center in Chungnam this year, research on fisheries seed for excellent aquatic product development and value preservation will be actively promoted.” He added, “In addition, the institute will strive to play a pivotal role in increasing fishermen's income and aquatic resources.”

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