KIOST First Discovers 16 Species of Tropical Fish Previously Unrecorded in the Waters of Ulleungdo and Dokdo in Korea

Ulleungdo and Dokdo Marine Ecosystems... Impact of Tropical and Subtropical Environments

The Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) announced that it has discovered two fish species previously unrecorded in Korea and 14 fish species not previously reported in the Ulleungdo and Dokdo waters.

Unrecorded species in Korea refer to species that have been found in other countries but are confirmed to inhabit Korean waters for the first time.

Dr. Kim Yun-bae’s research team at the KIOST Ulleungdo-Dokdo Marine Research Base, together with Dr. Myung Jeong-gu from the Fisheries Resources Ecology Research Institute and researcher Myung Se-hoon from the National Institute of Fisheries Science, discovered two unrecorded fish species belonging to the Gobiidae family (tropical species) and the Lutjanidae family (subtropical species) near 10 meters depth in the Hodom Cave of Seodo, Dokdo, and the Mulswaebawi area in Namyang, Ulleungdo, between September and November 2024, and reported these findings to the Korean Ichthyological Society.

In the future, the Gobiidae fish will be tentatively named ‘(provisional name) Deungjeombokgimangdug’ and the Lutjanidae fish ‘(provisional name) Keungeumjul-eolgebinsil’ for academic reporting.

(Provisional name) Deungjeom Bokgi Mangduk.

(Provisional name) Keun Geumjul Eolge Bineul.

Additionally, the research team discovered 14 fish species that had not been observed in the Ulleungdo-Dokdo waters before. Among these, 11 species including Geumgangbari and Garajisok were found for the first time in the Dokdo area, while 3 species including Gamakcheonghwangmunjeol and Hobakdom were first found in Ulleungdo. The green wavy rockfish, juggokchi, blue-scaled snapper, hwanganeo, and hobakdom found in Dokdo were also discovered in Ulleungdo.

The 11 species newly found in the Dokdo waters are Geumgangbari, Garajisok, green wavy rockfish, patterned rockfish, rainbow rockfish, sil-yongchi, ssukgampeng, yeonjialrongyangtae, juggokchi, blue-scaled snapper, and hwanganeo. The 3 species first found in Ulleungdo are Gamakcheonghwangmunjeol, Nagasakki jaridom, and hobakdom.

Notably, among the 14 species whose first habitation was confirmed in the Ulleungdo-Dokdo waters, 8 are tropical fish species, while the rest inhabit subtropical and temperate waters. This indicates that due to changes in sea temperature, tropical and subtropical species that usually live in warmer southern seas are now appearing in Korean waters, signaling a gradual change in the marine ecosystem.

This achievement was carried out as part of the ‘Dokdo On-site Survey Activation and Specialization Project’ supported by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Gyeongbuk Province, and Ulleung County. Established in 2014, the Ulleungdo-Dokdo Marine Research Base serves as an advanced research station for Ulleungdo and Dokdo, continuously conducting studies to monitor changes in the marine ecosystem and environment around these areas.

KIOST President Lee Hee-seung stated, “To systematically conserve and manage our changing seas affected by climate change, we will continue to investigate and research the marine environment and biological resources around Korea.”