7 Tons of Freshwater Clams Released in Seomjin River, Daap, Gwangyang

Expectations for Jaechup Resource Recovery and Income Generation

Gwangyang City in Jeollanam-do announced on the 20th that about 7 tons of jaecheop, a specialty of the Seomjin River, were released in the lower reaches of the Seomjin River with the participation of over 40 people including local residents, jaecheop fishermen, Jeonnam Eastern Fisheries Cooperative, and public officials to expand the habitat of jaecheop and restore jaecheop resources.

The jaecheop released this time is expected to settle after an adaptation period of about one month and naturally grow as seed and adult jaecheop by repeatedly growing and spawning from May of the following year.

Gwangyang City released approximately 7 tons of jachaeps collected from the lower Seomjin River to expand the habitat and restore jachep resources, with about 40 participants including local residents, jachep fishermen, Jeonnam East Fisheries Cooperative, and public officials.
[Photo by Gwangyang City]

Gwangyang City plans to guide fishermen to refrain from harvesting jaecheop during the adaptation period when the transplanted jaecheop settle and gradually increase in habitat in the released water surface, and conduct follow-up management such as joint crackdowns on illegal fishing with related organizations and posting banners.

Ji Yoon-sung, Director of the Steel Port Division, said, “We are promoting transplantation and release projects to expand the Gwangyang Seomjin River jaecheop resources. Since the effect of increasing resource quantity is significant, we plan to continue efforts to promote the jaecheop resource creation project, and we will do our best to widely publicize the excellence of Gwangyang Seomjin River jaecheop so that local fishermen’s income can improve.”

Since 2008, Gwangyang City has transplanted and released about 97 tons of jaecheop to restore jaecheop resources and create income for local fishermen.

Meanwhile, the ‘Seomjin River Jaecheop Hand-frame Fishery’ was designated as National Important Fishery Heritage No. 7 in November 2018, and last July, it was confirmed to be registered as the first FAO Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) in the domestic fishery sector.