Dead Stranded Finless Porpoise, a Marine Protected Species, Found at Jeju Iho Beach

[Jeju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Jeongpil] A carcass of a marine protected species, a finless porpoise, was found at Iho Beach in Ihoil-dong, Jeju City.

According to the Jeju Maritime Police Station on the 2nd, a report was received at 9:23 a.m. that morning about a dolphin carcass near the seawater pool at Iho Beach in Ihoil-dong, Jeju City.

The Jeju Police Substation patrol team was dispatched and arrived at the scene at around 9:45 a.m., discovering one dolphin carcass washed ashore on the beach of Iho Beach.

After collecting evidence of the dolphin species, the Jeju Police Substation patrol team consulted Professor Kim Byung-yeop of Jeju National University, who responded that it appeared to be a female finless porpoise approximately 139 cm in length, 75 cm in girth, and weighing about 70 kg, and that it had been deceased for about 5 to 7 days.

Since there were no signs of illegal capture, the carcass was handed over to the local government at around 10:25 a.m., and the discovered finless porpoise carcass is scheduled to be transferred to Jeju National University for marine ecological environment research.

This year, a total of 27 finless porpoises have been found by the Jeju Maritime Police, all without signs of illegal capture.

A Jeju Maritime Police official stated, “The finless porpoise is designated as a marine protected species in our country and is under protection,” and added, “If caught in fishing nets during operations or if a carcass is found along the coast, we urge prompt reporting to the maritime police.”

Jeju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Jeongpil panax33@asiae.co.kr