"Come Back Again"... 400,000 Young Salmon Released in the Seomjingang River Area

Jeonnam Institute Applies Otolith Thermal Marking Technology
Special Exhibition at Seomjingang Fish Ecology Center Until March 31

On the 16th, an event was held at the Seomjin River Waterfront Park area in Gurye County to release 400,000 young salmon. Provided by Jeonnam Province

The Jeonnam Institute of Marine and Fisheries Science released 400,000 young salmon on March 16 at the Seomjingang Riverside Park area in Gurye County to help restore local salmon populations.

This year marks the 29th annual release event, which was attended by over 100 people, including children from local daycare centers and elementary schools, as well as members of environmental organizations, who gathered to witness the young salmon begin their journey.

The salmon released on this day were hatched and raised from eggs collected from parent salmon that returned to the Seomjingang River in October and November last year. After about 40 days of adapting to the river, these young salmon will head out to the ocean, traveling as far as the Alaskan waters of the North Pacific. They will then repeat the fascinating salmon life cycle, returning to their home river, the Seomjingang, after three to five years to spawn.

Notably, this year’s release applied the “otolith thermal marking” technique, which creates a unique pattern on the fish’s ear bones by artificially controlling water temperature during hatching. This technology will provide key data for future scientific analysis of migration routes and population structures of salmon returning to the Seomjingang River.

In addition, the Seomjingang Fish Ecology Center will hold a special exhibition through March 31, allowing children and visitors to directly observe the growth process of young salmon and offering an opportunity for ecological education on the importance of preserving biological resources.

Kim Chungnam, Director of the Jeonnam Institute of Marine and Fisheries Science, stated, “Salmon are a representative indicator species of the health of the Seomjingang River’s aquatic ecosystem. We will continue our best efforts to increase biodiversity and raise environmental awareness through ongoing resource restoration, including salmon and freshwater snails.”

Since 1998, Jeonnam Province has released a total of 11.78 million young salmon, and it has been confirmed that approximately 6,700 adult salmon have returned to their home, the Seomjingang River, during this period.

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