Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Discovers 83 New Marine Species

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 26th that through the '2023 Operation of Marine and Fisheries Biological Resources Deposit Registration and Preservation Institutions' project, a total of 83 marine species were newly secured, including 34 new species discovered for the first time in the world in our seas and 49 unrecorded species newly found in Korea.

The Ministry explained that the new species discovered in Korean waters include 34 species such as the marine plant Endoplura gyeokpoensis and the marine bryozoan Escharoides buffonellarioides. The unrecorded species newly found in Korea include 49 species such as the marine fish Trachinotus blochii and the marine echinoderm Henricia kinkasana.

The Ministry also secured an additional 129 unpossessed species that were previously known but not held in physical form. The newly discovered new and unrecorded species have been published in domestic and international academic journals to solidify Korea's marine biological sovereignty, and the secured resources are being disclosed through the Marine Biological Resources Integrated Information System (MBRIS).

The Ministry designates 27 deposit registration and preservation institutions, including universities and public research institutes, to systematically manage marine and fisheries biological resources. This year, about 70 classification experts from 20 deposit registration and preservation institutions will participate in a joint excavation survey in the waters around Udo, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, to secure diverse marine and fisheries biological resources. Minister Kang Do-hyung of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries stated, "We will operate this project more systematically to actively promote surveys for securing marine and fisheries biological resources, and widely publicize the results through internationally renowned academic journals to strengthen the sovereignty of our marine and fisheries biological resources. We will also continuously support the industrialization of resources through active resource distribution via deposit registration and preservation institutions."