Limited to juvenile herring only... Changwon City "Different from usual cases"
Dead herring collected over three days amounts to 19 tons
On the 3rd, Changwon City announced that since the 30th of last month, a school of young herring has died en masse in the Masan Bay area of Changwon City, Gyeongnam Province, and the city has begun investigating the cause. Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Culture Young Intern Reporter] In the Masan Bay area of Changwon City, Gyeongnam Province, a school of young herring recently experienced a mass die-off, prompting Changwon City to begin investigating the cause. The city is analyzing that this mass die-off is limited to juvenile herring and differs from typical cases caused by marine water pollution or other common factors.
According to Changwon City on the 3rd, the first report was received on the 30th of last month about a school of young herring found dead near the Marine Drama Set in Gusan-myeon, Masanhappo-gu.
The following day, on the 1st, additional mass die-offs of young herring were discovered at Doman Port and Dagu Port in Jindong-myeon, Masanhappo-gu, and on the 2nd, more were found at the 3·15 Marine Nuri Park in Masanhappo-gu. All locations are within approximately 10 km in a straight line from Marine Nuri Park.
To prevent secondary damage such as marine pollution and foul odors caused by the dead fish, Changwon City mobilized about 200 fishermen and related organizations, including the Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, to collect approximately 19 tons of carcasses over three days and continues the collection efforts.
Mass die-offs of fish typically occur due to various natural causes such as temporary changes in seawater temperature or hypoxic water masses (oxygen-deficient water blobs), as well as artificial causes like marine pollution or fishermen discarding fish. Generally, multiple fish species are affected simultaneously in one location.
However, this mass die-off is limited to juvenile herring and appeared sporadically in several areas. Changwon City is ruling out various possibilities but states that it is difficult to conclusively determine the cause prematurely.
To identify the cause of the herring die-off, Changwon City requested real-time marine environment measurement investigations from the Southeast Sea Fisheries Research Institute. Additionally, the dead herring were sent to the National Institute of Fisheries Science for detailed analysis.
On the 3rd, Hong Nampyo, Mayor of Changwon City, said, "I inspected the affected areas and the coastal regions within the jurisdiction to confirm the cause of the ongoing fish die-offs and to establish measures to prevent recurrence." He added, "We will devise thorough measures to prevent recurrence through a complete investigation of the cause."
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