163 Types of Fish on Our Nation's Dining Table in One Chart

Poster Published Featuring All Our Sea Fish Found at Nationwide Fish Markets
Pukyong National University Marine Fish Resource Deposit and Preservation Institution, 'Sea Fish of the Korean Peninsula'

A poster of marine fish of the Korean Peninsula produced by the Pukyong National University Marine Fishery Resources Deposit Registration and Preservation Institution.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] A valuable poster that provides a comprehensive view of the fish appearing in the diets of our people has been released. It is a single printed material that comprehensively covers 163 species of fish from our seas frequently traded in nationwide fish markets, along with photographs.

On the 13th, the Marine Fishery Resources Depository and Preservation Institution at Pukyong National University announced that it has produced a poster titled "Marine Fish of the Korean Peninsula," which contains photos of 163 major commercial species from our seas.

This poster provides specimen photos, scientific names, and Korean names of 163 major commercial species such as flatfish, horse mackerel, mackerel, sea bream, pufferfish, rockfish, sharks, and stingrays, selected from over 1,200 fish species inhabiting our seas.

In particular, to facilitate easy distinction between major commercial species and similar species, the poster arranges them by the same higher taxonomic groups (family), making it useful for use at fish markets and other field locations.

For example, the purple pufferfish, which is traded at about twice the price of the tiger pufferfish in fish markets, is often mistakenly classified as the similar-looking tiger pufferfish. Using this poster, one can easily distinguish them by checking the differences in spotted patterns.

The specimen photos of the 163 fish species included in this poster were directly collected and photographed by the Marine Fishery Resources Depository and Preservation Institution at Pukyong National University. This institution stores and freely distributes and loans a total of 742 species (186 families) of marine fish specimens, including these 163 species and three newly discovered species (long-tailed pipefish, seahorse, and white-striped moray eel), preserved in liquid, frozen, and tissue states.

Professor Kim Jin-gu, head of the institution and professor of Resource Biology, said, "Due to climate change, marine ecosystems are rapidly changing, and the replacement of marine fish species is progressing quickly, so accurate information is needed, which led to the production of this poster. We hope this material will also be used in research such as the development of new aquaculture species and the advancement of fisheries resource management."

The Marine Fishery Resources Depository and Preservation Institution has been producing this poster since 2013 with support from the Korea Institute of Marine Science and Technology Promotion (KIMST) under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and plans to distribute the poster to fisheries and marine-related institutions for use as educational and research materials.