Yeongdeok-gun Photo 3·Byeonggok 2-ri Selected as Model Fishing Village Grounds for Rich Fishing Communities

Sea Cucumber Resource Management and Production
Promoting Income Growth and Revitalizing Local Communities

Yeongdeok-gun, Gyeongbuk Province, is set to actively promote the ‘Creating Wealthy Fishing Villages’ project centered on the development of Sea Cucumber Island to establish new growth engines in the East Sea era.

Recently, the East Coast region of Gyeongbuk has seen a significant decline in the catch of the three major fish species?squid, pollock, and saury?due to climate change. Frequent natural disasters such as high water temperatures have caused increasing damage to the fishing and aquaculture industries, threatening not only the livelihoods of fishermen but also the growth of local communities.

In response, Gyeongbuk Province, in cooperation with Yeongdeok and Uljin counties, will invest 5 billion KRW over four years to select four villages each in Yeongdeok and Uljin for pilot projects aimed at transforming low-income fishing villages into growth-oriented fishing communities by adapting to the changing marine environment of the East Coast.

The core of this project is the development of Sea Cucumber Island, which systematically cultivates and manages sea cucumbers, a specialized marine resource of the East Coast. Sea cucumbers, known for their rapid growth and excellent environmental adaptability, are expected to generate profits for fishing villages.

To this end, Gyeongbuk Province and Yeongdeok and Uljin counties will each contribute 50% of the budget, selecting target fishing villages in two phases: the first from 2025 to 2026 and the second from 2027 to 2028. They will establish cooperative systems, improve productivity, and build distribution networks to create a sustainable fisheries model.

In the first phase, Yeongdeok-gun has selected the Sa-jin 3-ri and Byeonggok 2-ri fishing cooperatives in Yeonghae-myeon and Byeonggok-myeon, respectively. Based on sea cucumber resource management and production expansion, the plan is to provide residents with stable income sources and contribute to revitalizing the local economy.

County Governor Kim Gwang-yeol stated, “This East Coast Wealthy Fishing Villages project focuses not only on economic growth but also on establishing a sustainable development model for local residents and fishing villages.” He added, “This project will open a new future for fishing village areas.”

Yeonghae-myeon, Photo 3-ri, the target area of the Rich Fishing Village Creation Project. Provided by Yeongdeok-gun

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