Fishermen Worldwide Shout "Can't Do Without Korea"... Here's the Reason [Curiosity Lab]

Editor's NoteThis is a corner that explains issues encountered in daily life or suddenly becoming a hot topic in an easy and interesting way.

The top livelihood priority for fishermen on the beaches of Wales, UK, is sea snails. Every year, 10,000 tons are caught in the Bristol Channel, but almost all of them flow to Asia. For the past 20 years, Welsh fishermen who have caught sea snails still do not know what sea snails taste like. However, they have sustained their livelihoods for 20 years.

In 2019, the British BBC aired a program titled 'Why Are Sea Snails Caught in Wales, UK Popular in Korea?' In this program, a British chef said that sea snails suffer from two misunderstandings. He said, "Sea snails have the traditional image of being cheap food served in the back alleys of the East End, and the other is the idea that sea snails are tough and rubbery. The important thing depends on how you cook sea snails."

Squid fishing boat [Getty Images]

Sea Snails Not Eaten in the UK, Giant Squid Symbolizing Peruvian Fishermen's Struggle All Headed to Korea

Local fishermen say, "Nothing is more sustainable than sea snails," and "There is an amazing resource here that we do not eat, but on the other side of the globe, it cannot be obtained sufficiently."

"Without Korea, we would die," say farmers and fishermen worldwide. As the supply and demand of domestic agricultural, livestock, and fishery products and foodstuffs become unbalanced, the representative drinking snack 'sea snails' are imported about 5,000 tons annually from the UK and Ireland, accounting for 90% of the raw materials for domestic canned sea snails.

EBS's 'Extreme Jobs' aired an episode in 2016 titled 'A Fierce Battle with a Giant Squid Larger Than a Human ? Peruvian Giant Squid Fishing.' The legendary giant squid is a special species caught only in Peru. The giant squid, which Peruvian fishermen struggle to catch, mainly goes to Korea. The annual seafood imported from Peru is about 45,000 tons, mainly frozen squid, whiteleg shrimp, and conger eel. In particular, the giant squid accounts for the largest proportion, 35.8%, of squid imports into Korea. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety even conducts on-site inspections to ensure food safety and hygiene.

Since the 1990s, squid was caught as a popular species at about 200,000 tons annually, but since 2017, the catch has decreased to below 100,000 tons. As prices rose, the government recently planned to pioneer new fishing grounds targeting East African waters such as Kenya, known for abundant squid resources.

Norwegian mackerel fishing boat
[Photo by Norwegian Seafood Council]

The National Fish Pollack Comes from Russia, Mackerel from Norway

Pollock. [Image source=Pixabay]

Pollack, known as the 'national fish,' is also a major export item for Russia. Until the 1980s, pollack was the most caught fish in Korea's coastal waters. However, due to indiscriminate fishing and rising water temperatures, it disappeared entirely in the 2000s. Consequently, Korea banned pollack fishing from 2019 and currently imports most pollack from Russia. Last year, the import value of Russian pollack reached $295.78 million (approximately 393.68 billion KRW), accounting for 78.5% of the total.

Norway is the world's largest producer and exporter of mackerel. One of Norway's most important markets is Korea. Korea imports about 40,000 tons of Norwegian mackerel annually. Norwegian mackerel is called the 'Tiger of the sea' due to its vivid patterns and rich juiciness. The Norwegian Seafood Council even visits Korea to promote mackerel sales.

Meanwhile, Korea is one of the countries that imports the most US beef worldwide. The US Department of Agriculture and the US Meat Export Federation reported that Korea imported 233,081 tons of beef from the US last year, surpassing China and Hong Kong (201,500 tons) and Japan (198,528 tons). In terms of value, Korea's US beef imports last year amounted to $2.047 billion, exceeding China and Hong Kong ($1.93 billion) and Japan ($1.356 billion). Accordingly, Korea has been ranked the largest importer of US beef for three consecutive years in 2021, 2022, and 2023.