560 Million Juvenile Bajirak and Gamurak Released into Gyeonggi Sea... Expected Increase in Fishermen's Income

Young Manila clams released into the Gyeonggi Sea

Gyeonggi Province will release 5.6 million shellfish, including Manila clams, into the Gyeonggi Sea.

The Gyeonggi Marine Fisheries Resources Research Institute announced on the 17th that it will release 5.6 million juvenile shellfish such as Manila clams, Gamu-rak, and Dongjuk, produced using the institute's own technology, into three coastal mudflat areas within the province to enhance shellfish resources in the Gyeonggi Sea.

Accordingly, the institute will begin releasing a total of 1.6 million juvenile Manila clams and Dongjuk into the mudflats of Seongam-dong, Ansan City on the 17th, followed by sequential releases of Manila clams, Gamu-rak, and Dongjuk into three locations including Baekmiri, Hwaseong, and Oido mudflats, Siheung, by the 19th. The release quantities by species are 5 million Manila clams, 500,000 Gamu-rak, and 100,000 Dongjuk.

The three species being released are high-quality juveniles that the institute has been producing artificially since May, reared in tanks for about five months, and have passed disease inspections.

Since 2018, the institute has been researching shellfish seed production technology, stabilizing mass production techniques for juvenile Manila clams, and successfully achieving mass production of Gamu-rak and Dongjuk seeds. Notably, Gamu-rak is a species for which Gyeonggi Province succeeded in mass artificial seed production technology for the first time in Korea last year, and it is one of the high-priced clams costing more than three times that of Manila clams.

In addition to the shellfish being released this time, the institute plans further research on developing new species such as New Zealand cockles and rockfish clams to adapt to the changing mudflat environment.

Kim Bong-hyun, director of the Gyeonggi Marine Fisheries Resources Research Institute, stated, "We will actively conduct research on discovering aquatic organisms suitable for the Gyeonggi Sea environment and on fishery resources to do our best to increase fishermen's income."

Meanwhile, the institute released a total of 300,000 crabs, webfoot octopuses, cuttlefish, and ragworms from June to September this year.

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