‘Full of Roe and Exquisite Taste’ Daily 13-15t Auctioned
Popular Nationwide for Trap-Caught Fish from Red Tide-Free Seas
Jindo Seomang Port is experiencing a bountiful catch of freshly caught spring flower crabs. (Photo by Jindo-gun)
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Seo Young-seo] The Jindo waters, which account for 40% of the nation's blue crab production, are teeming with "half water, half blue crabs." Despite the fishing season starting a month earlier than last year, Seomang Port in Jindo is enjoying a bountiful catch of freshly caught spring blue crabs.
According to blue crab fishermen on the 8th, the traps pulled up around Oebyeong and Naebyeong Islands in Jodo-myeon, Jindo-gun, are filled with blue crabs in season.
In the Jodo-myeon waters, 40 to 50 blue crab fishing vessels set out daily, each catching 300 to 350 kg of blue crabs. The daily auction volume reaches 13 to 15 tons.
Since early last month, 118 tons of blue crabs have been auctioned through the Jindo County Fisheries Cooperative, with sales amounting to 3.5 billion KRW as of this date.
This catch volume is 4 to 5 times higher compared to the same period in previous years: 40 tons and 1.5 billion KRW (2020), 26 tons and 1 billion KRW (2019), and 33 tons and 900 million KRW (2018).
This year, the average sea temperature is warm at 12 to 13 degrees Celsius, and a cold water mass has formed in the Jodo-myeon waters, providing abundant plankton and other food sources. Additionally, the sandy seabed is suitably formed, naturally creating an optimal habitat for blue crabs earlier than usual.
Especially, Jindo, a clean sea area where red tides do not occur year-round, has prohibited sea sand extraction since 2004 and has continuously released over 100 million KRW worth of blue crabs annually, creating the best living conditions for blue crabs.
The blue crabs caught in traps have better marketability than those from other regions, attracting a steady flow of tourists for purchases. As of the 8th, the auction price at the Jindo County Fisheries Cooperative ranges from 38,000 to 48,000 KRW per kilogram.
Captain Kim Young-seo (Jindo Blue Crab Trap Association) said, "Although the spring blue crab fishing season started about a month earlier than last year, we start work from dawn because the catch is so abundant. Right now, the waters off Jindo are full of spring blue crabs packed with roe, and we are enjoying the joy of a full catch," smiling brightly.
In season, Jindo blue crabs, filled with roe that stimulates gourmets' appetites, are popular nationwide as steamed blue crab, soup, seasoned dishes, and soy sauce marinated crab, and are supplied to large discount stores and fish markets.
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