Gyeonggi Province and Private Club Release 60,000 Juvenile Fish in Ippado and Gukhwado

The Gyeonggi Provincial Government, in collaboration with the marine leisure club "Leisure Boat Mania," will hold a juvenile fish release event in coastal waters of Gyeonggi Province on June 22, 2025. This release event is being organized as part of the province's efforts to expand private sector participation in fisheries resource management.

Members of the club will use 50 of their own leisure boats to release 60,000 juvenile rockfish into the waters around Ippado and Gukhwado in Hwaseong. The purchase of the juvenile fish was funded through a voluntary fundraising campaign by Leisure Boat Mania members. Approximately 70 people, including club members, officials from the Gyeonggi Provincial Government, and the Hwaseong City Marine and Fisheries Division, will attend the event.

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

Leisure Boat Mania, formed in 2014 to promote marine leisure activities, is the largest club of its kind in Korea, with more than 54,400 members nationwide. The club participates in the annual Korea International Boat Show, where it works to spread proper boating culture and support newcomers to the activity.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Government is providing administrative and technical support throughout the event, including discounts on the use of the Jebu Marina facility for club members' boats, arranging and contracting with fish seed production companies, and conducting fish disease inspections. The province also provided guidance to ensure that the release size (6 cm) and release period (June to October) for the juvenile rockfish comply with standard fisheries release guidelines.

Park Jongmin, Director of the Gyeonggi Provincial Government's Agro-Fisheries and Life Sciences Bureau, stated, "Gyeonggi Province continues to invest more than 5 billion KRW annually in fisheries resource creation projects. Cases like this, where private clubs voluntarily raise funds for juvenile fish releases, serve as leading examples of public-private cooperation in fisheries resource creation and mark a significant starting point for the coexistence of leisure and fisheries."