◀ again ▶
The mass-dead sardine phenomenon that floods off the coast of Masan, Gyeongsangnam-do, has been going on for over fifteen days.
More than 200 tons have already been collected, but the exact cause is still unknown.
Nearby residents complain about the stench.
Journalist Lee Jae-kyung reported this.
◀ Report ▶
A coast off Masan, Changwon-si, was covered in white sardines with their open boats.
Fishermen keep trying to get dead fish out, but the work never ends.
It was initially known as herring, but following investigation it was confirmed as a sardine characterized by a dotted line on the side of the body.
At first it was thought to be a temporary phenomenon caused by sardine vessels unloading too many caught sardines into the sea, but recently the size of dying sardines has increased dramatically again.
The cause of the mass death of sardines is still unclear, but the city of Changwon has asked the National Fisheries Research Institute and Changwon Coast Guard to investigate the cause.
Is there any other cause besides artificial disposal?
I looked out into the sea.
A swarm of silver fish fills the screen.
The sardines move in groups, and pour endlessly so that the end is not seen.
The movement of a group of ‘Ayebaekeo’ chasing a school of sardines was also captured.
[임현정 / 국립수산과학원 남동해수산연구소장]
“If you look at the fluctuations in catches (sardines) over the past five years, it turns out that the January and March catches were high and the catches low in the autumn. Therefore, the massive influx of sardines into Masan Bay in October and mass mortality appears to be an unusual phenomenon. ”
Lack of dissolved oxygen in the sea is also listed as one of the causes of death, but the fact that other fish did not die, this mass death is considered more unusual.
The National Academy of Fisheries Science will publish the results of an investigation into the cause of mass death of sardines later this week.
I’m Lee Jae-kyung of MBC News.
Video coverage: Son Won-rak (Gyeongnam)
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