Changwon Special City Completes Collection of 45 Tons of Sardine Carcasses in Masan Marine New City Area

Mayor Hong Nampyo: "Immediate Response to Any Additional Possible Deaths"

Changwon City in Gyeongnam announced on the 15th that it has completed the full collection of 45 tons of sardine carcasses in the waters off Masan Marine New City.

Changwon Special City Mayor Hong Nampyo is conducting an on-site inspection of the waters in front of Masan Marine New City, where the sardine carcasses were removed on the 15th.

Since the occurrence of the mass death on the 11th, the city immediately set up a command post on site and focused on rapid collection. By the weekend, the collection work was carried out, and on the afternoon of the 15th, about 220 people including public officials, contract workers, and fishermen, along with 42 fishing vessels and equipment, were mobilized to complete the full collection of the dead sardines.

However, the city is keeping open the possibility that some carcasses sunk underwater may appear additionally and plans to maintain the situation team to collect them immediately.

Hong Nampyo, Mayor of Changwon City, said, “We apologize for the inconvenience caused to citizens due to the foul odor from the mass sardine deaths. Although we have completed the full collection of the carcasses from the 11th, we will remain vigilant and respond immediately to any additional deaths to minimize citizen inconvenience.”

Earlier, on the 14th, Mayor Hong visited the site where the mass sardine deaths occurred around Masan Port Marine New City, encouraging the workers engaged in collection efforts and urging swift collection and disposal to minimize citizen inconvenience.

Meanwhile, the city sent samples to the National Institute of Fisheries Science on the 11th for analysis of the cause of death and is awaiting the results. Based on the findings, the city plans to continuously refine the response system and establish a rapid response framework tailored to the cause.