Uljin County Minimizes Fishermen's Losses by Purchasing Jellyfish

Uljin County in North Gyeongsang Province will implement a jellyfish purchase program by allocating an emergency reserve fund of 60 million KRW to minimize fishing operation damages caused by the continuous spread of Nemopilema nomurai jellyfish in the coastal waters of Uljin.

Nomura's jellyfish spreading from Gijang, Busan to the coastal waters of Gyeongbuk.

The National Institute of Fisheries Science announced that, as Nemopilema nomurai jellyfish?identified as a major cause of fishing damage?migrated northward in high density from Jeju to the Jeonnam coastal waters in June, a Nemopilema nomurai jellyfish advisory was extended from Busan Gijang to the coastal areas of North Gyeongsang on August 7.

As a result, jellyfish sting incidents have increased at beaches along the East Coast, and recently, the mixing of jellyfish with catches during fishing operations has led to a decline in product value and delays in fishing activities, further exacerbating difficulties.

In response, Uljin County is using emergency funds to purchase jellyfish collected during set net and partitioned set net fishing operations at a rate of 300 KRW per kilogram through Uljin Jukbyeon and Hupo Fisheries Cooperatives.

County Governor Son Byeongbok stated, "In accordance with the jellyfish crisis response guidelines, we will strengthen monitoring and guidance to prevent damages, and do our utmost to resolve difficulties faced by fishermen through jellyfish removal and purchase programs."