Harmful Fish Species ‘Gangjunchi’ Used as Bait for Offshore and Coastal Trap Fishing

Inland water harmful fish species such as Gangjunchi caught in the Chungnam region are piled up in transport boxes. Provided by Chungnam Province

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province is set to actively promote a project that uses the freshwater harmful fish species, Gangjunchi, as bait for coastal and offshore trap fishing.

According to the province on the 20th, a recent field experiment was conducted to verify whether Gangjunchi can be used as trap bait. The results confirmed that Gangjunchi has sufficient value to replace mackerel and sardines as bait.

Gangjunchi, which mainly inhabits rivers and lakes, is a top predator species that travels in schools and preys on small fish.

It is known as a representative harmful freshwater fish species that is not used for consumption due to its strong fishy odor and numerous fine bones, and thus has lacked practical utilization methods until now.

On the other hand, due to its strong predatory and reproductive abilities, if its population is not controlled, it can increase explosively, making capture inevitable.

For the same reason, since 2018, the province has been conducting a Gangjunchi purchase project every year with a budget exceeding 100 million won, and the purchased Gangjunchi has been processed free of charge for use as feed or liquid fertilizer. This is why the province has been exploring various ways to utilize Gangjunchi.

However, recent experiments confirmed that Gangjunchi has bait effectiveness equivalent to the existing mackerel bait, raising expectations for increased utilization of Gangjunchi in the future.

Based on the experimental results, the province plans to reconfirm the practical value of Gangjunchi as bait by region and species, and then expand its distribution so that Gangjunchi can be used as bait in trap fishing sites nationwide. Additionally, plans to secure distribution channels are also being explored.

If the Gangjunchi trap bait utilization project is activated, the province anticipates significantly reducing the bait cost burden for about 300 local coastal and offshore trap fishing vessels, which amounts to approximately 3 billion won annually.

In particular, if this is expanded nationwide, the province estimates that bait costs could be reduced by 40 billion won annually.

Jo Won-gap, Director of the Marine Fisheries Bureau of the province, said, “The Gangjunchi bait utilization project will have a triple effect of protecting the freshwater ecosystem, alleviating the bait cost burden for trap fishermen, and conserving fishery resources such as mackerel and sardines. The province plans to focus on establishing detailed plans to reduce the Gangjunchi population and stably supply trap bait.”