Salmon Return to the Taehwagang River! First Successful Catch in a Year

Two Male Salmon Captured Near Guyounggyo in Ulju County
"Citizen Involvement Needed to Protect Salmon Spawning"

Salmon have returned to the Taehwagang River in Ulju County, Ulsan.

The Taehwagang Ecological Center in Ulju County captured two returning salmon near Guyounggyo at around 3:10 p.m. on October 24, marking the first catch of the year of salmon that have returned to their birthplace to spawn.

Salmon caught for the first time this year in Taehwagang at Guyounggyo, Ulju County.

According to the Ecological Center, both salmon caught this time were male. One measured 73.2 cm in length and weighed 3.4 kg, while the other measured 69.4 cm and weighed 3 kg, both robust specimens. The center explained that these salmon were likely hatched in the Taehwagang River, migrated to the sea, and have now returned.

Since 2016, the Taehwagang Ecological Center has been capturing returning salmon and carrying out artificial hatching and cultivation. Eggs collected from the captured salmon are fertilized artificially and then hatched. The young salmon are raised over the winter and released back into the Taehwagang River around March of the following year.

This cyclical restoration project contributes to the recovery of the Taehwagang salmon ecosystem and the revitalization of local ecological tourism.

An official from Ulju County stated, "We need the interest and protection of citizens to ensure that salmon, which have returned home after a long journey, can safely complete their spawning. We will strengthen management and protection so that the Taehwagang River, where salmon return, can be maintained as a sustainable ecological stream."

The Taehwagang Ecological Center has set up a salmon capture site near Guyounggyo and plans to conduct monitoring and population surveys until the end of November to secure basic ecological data on salmon returns.