Gyeonggi-do Intensifies Crackdown on 'Illegal Activities' Including Use of Hydrofluoric Acid in Kim Aquaculture Farms

A public official is measuring the concentration of inorganic acid using a portable hydrochloric acid meter.

Gyeonggi Province will intensively crack down on the use of inorganic acid (hazardous chemical substances) in seaweed farming.

On the 6th, Gyeonggi Province announced that from the 7th of this month until April 19th next year, it will conduct joint inspections with city and county authorities on illegal activities at seaweed farms in the province, including the illegal use of inorganic acid. The province decided to carry out joint inspections, anticipating that illegal activities would be rampant during the winter season when seaweed harvesting intensifies.

The inspection targets are a total of 66 seaweed harvesting farms (3,100 hectares), including 48 sites in Hwaseong City and 18 sites in Ansan City.

The main inspection items include ▲ illegal use of inorganic acid in seaweed farms ▲ unlicensed aquaculture management ▲ violations related to the use of management vessels ▲ acts of allowing others to control licensed aquaculture farms or controlling them ▲ installation of aquaculture facilities outside licensed areas ▲ installation of non-certified Styrofoam buoys within farms, among others.

In particular, inorganic acid is known to have a higher effect in removing foreign substances and helps prevent seaweed diseases compared to legally permitted organic acids (active treatment agents). However, it is highly toxic, does not dissolve well in seawater, pollutes the environment, and can cause serious effects if accumulated in the human body.

Inorganic acid is classified as a hazardous chemical substance and is prohibited under the Fisheries Resource Management Act, so most use organic acids. However, since there have been cases where some seaweed farmers secretly used inorganic acid, intensive crackdowns are necessary.

On the sea, Gyeonggi Province will strengthen inspections and searches of seaweed harvesting sites and fishery management vessels using three fishery guidance vessels from Ansan and Hwaseong cities. On land, it will focus on inspecting docks, warehouses, and greenhouses near ports and harbors with a high possibility of inorganic acid storage near seaweed farms (such as Tando and Haengnang-gok in Ansan, and Jebu and Gungpyeong ports in Hwaseong).

To suppress the illegal use of inorganic acid in seaweed farms, Gyeonggi Province invests more than 600 million KRW annually to support organic acid active treatment agents with a chlorine ion concentration of 9.5% or less to seaweed farms in Hwaseong and Ansan.

Additionally, since the 13th of last month, inspections have been conducted on non-certified Styrofoam (expanded polystyrene) buoys, which have been banned from new installation in all farms. Styrofoam buoys easily break during use and turn into microplastics, which are a major cause of marine environmental pollution.

Gyeonggi Province plans to strictly punish illegal activities detected during this joint inspection according to relevant laws and regulations, and will enforce administrative measures such as license suspension or cancellation without exception.

Kim Seong-gon, Director of the Marine Fisheries Division of Gyeonggi Province, emphasized, "The illegal use of inorganic acid in seaweed farms destroys marine ecosystems and causes distrust in Gyeonggi Province’s seaweed products. We will strongly punish such acts under a zero-tolerance policy to establish a fair fishery order."

Meanwhile, last year, Gyeonggi Province detected a total of 12 cases of illegal activities including illegal use of inorganic acid, unlicensed aquaculture management, and violations related to the use of management vessels through intensive crackdowns on seaweed farms, and took judicial actions.

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