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| An abalone farmer in Gangjin County in South Jeolla Province, whose abalone farmed in waters near Maryang Harbor were killed after a monsoon downpour earlier this month, kneels on top of the dead abalone before Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Moon Seong-hyeok and his aides, asking for help, July 12. Yonhap |
By Ko Dong-hwan
A whopping 29 million farmed abalone in Korea’s southern waters died after days of a monsoon downpour earlier this month disrupted the habitat that the mollusks live in.
The dead abalone, some of them unripe young ones, were concentrated in farms in waters off the coastal counties of South Jeolla Province. Over 6 million abalone raised by 61 households died in Jindo, and 300,000 farmed by five households were killed in Wando.
But the most abalone died in Gangjin County. At enclosed farms in waters near Maryang Harbor in southern Gangjin, the summer monsoon fatally affected some 22.9 million abalone raised by 32 households.
Taking into account other South Jeolla counties with abalone farms, such as Jangheung and Haenam, the total number of abalone killed in the province amounts to a whopping 29.23 million, farmed by some 100 households. Their market value has been assessed at over 22.6 billion won ($19.8 million), according to the Korean daily newspaper, the Chosun Ilbo.
The abalone are believed to have died because the fresh water that had accumulated on land due to the heavy downpours during the period of July 5 to 7 overflowed into the coastal sea water areas where the farms are situated. The fresh water reduced the salinity of the sea water, disrupting the natural conditions required for abalone to live.
The severity of these incidents raised the concern of the regional authorities, resulting in South Jeolla Governor Kim Yung-rok and Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Moon Seong-hyeok visiting the farms in Gangjin, July 12.
Some 30 Gangjin residents whose abalone were killed in the rain sought the help of the governor and the minister at one of the farms. With the dead abalone on fishing nets, reeking in the hot summer sun in front of them, some desperate fishing industry workers even knelt down before the government officials, pleading for help.
According to Kim, the current laws set the amount of legal subsidies for fishermen who lose their products at an average of 23 percent of their original value. Kim said that the laws need to be revised to raise the subsidy rate to above 50 percent in order to be of any practical help to abalone farmers. While a two-year-old abalone’s market value is around 3,000 won, only 700 won is offered as a subsidy under the current laws, which is an amount that is hardly helpful.
Kim also pointed out that the current laws only cover fully grown abalone, leaving a legal loophole in which young abalone are not subsidized.
Kang Seong-woon, the provincial government’s ports and shipping division official, said that the provincial authorities have begun clearing the dead abalone from the farms in order to prevent contamination of the sea water surrounding the farms. They have also started the process of requesting from the ministry a list of legal adjustments to help the farmers.
29 million farmed abalones off South Jeolla Province killed by monsoon downpours
Source: Buhay Kapa PH
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