Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Fully Lifts High Water Temperature Warnings Along All Coastal Areas

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 22nd at 2 p.m. that the "High Water Temperature Advisory (Warning)" issued for the coastal and inner bays of Jeonnam Province will be fully lifted.

This year's high water temperature advisory lasted for 57 days, starting from July 28 along the West and South coasts (including Jeju), and the lifting time was about two weeks later than last year.

This year's high water temperature began about three weeks later than last year due to the monsoon season, and from late July to mid-September, the heatwave continued, resulting in coastal water temperatures unusually remaining 1 to 3℃ higher than the average (past 30 years) until mid-September.

The average coastal water temperature in Korea in August was 25 to 28℃, which was 1.5 to 2℃ higher than usual, and the temperature remained 1 to 3℃ higher than average until mid-September. However, with the influx of cold and dry air from the north afterward, temperatures are expected to drop, leading to a decrease in water temperature as well.

Meanwhile, as the high water temperature persisted beyond mid-September, damage reports continued from a total of 545 fishing households across seven cities and provinces including the East Sea, South Sea, and Jeju (19.43 million fish, 861 rows of sea squirts) as of September 20.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to support the first phase of recovery (231 fishing households, 18.6 billion KRW) before the Chuseok holiday to enable the rapid resumption of operations for fisheries affected by the high water temperature and to stabilize livelihoods during the holiday, and will promote a second phase of recovery after the high water temperature advisory is lifted.

Minister Cho Seung-hwan of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries stated, "We will do our best to support the prompt investigation of causes of fish deaths and the swift recovery of damages (for uninsured fishing households) as well as the payment of insurance claims (for insured fishing households) caused by this year's high water temperature."

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