‘Seomjingang Jaechup Jabi Hand-frame Fishing’ Registered as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System

Cheongsando Gudlejang and Damyang Bamboo Forest Followed by Nation's First in Fisheries Sector

The Gwangyang-Hadong 'Seomjingang Clam Hand-net Fishery,' where people have directly entered the river since prehistoric times to scrape the riverbed with a tool called 'georaengi' to catch clams, has been registered as the first Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) in the field of fisheries in Korea.

Jeonnam Province announced that the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which held a meeting from the 4th to the 7th of last month, designated the 'Seomjingang Clam Hand-net Fishery' as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS).

This is the third achievement in Jeonnam following the 'Wando Cheongsando Stone Slab Paddy Agriculture' and 'Damyang Bamboo Grove Agriculture.'

The Seomjingang Clam Hand-net Fishery has been practiced since prehistoric times in the lower reaches of the Seomjingang River around Gwangyang and Hadong, serving as a long-standing livelihood for residents of the Seomjingang basin.

After being registered as the 7th National Important Fishery Heritage designated by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries in 2018, an application for GIAHS registration was submitted in January 2020. Following document reviews and on-site inspections by the FAO, the final registration was decided at the regular general meeting of the GIAHS Scientific Advisory Committee.

To be designated as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System, a fishery heritage must meet criteria such as contributing to food and livelihood security, biodiversity, traditional knowledge systems, and connections with traditional fishery culture as a cultural and value system.

In Korea, a total of five agricultural heritages have been registered as GIAHS, including Jeju Batdam Agriculture, Wando Cheongsando Stone Slab Paddy, Hadong Traditional Tea Agriculture, Geumsan Ginseng Agriculture, and Damyang Bamboo Grove Agriculture.

Choi Jeong-gi, Director of the Marine and Fisheries Bureau of Jeonnam Province, said, "With the registration of the Seomjingang Clam Hand-net Fishery in the Gwangyang-Hadong area as the first Globally Important Agricultural Heritage in the fisheries sector domestically, its value has been recognized worldwide. We will continue to discover and promote the designation of more fishery heritages, including the Sinan Mudflat Solar Salt Industry, which applied for GIAHS registration last May, to contribute to the revitalization of fishing village economies."

The GIAHS system was established by the FAO in 2002 to pass on unique agricultural and fishery systems, biodiversity, traditional knowledge, and culture worldwide to future generations. Currently, 74 sites in 25 countries are registered.

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