Rising Sea Temperatures Kill Millions of Farmed Fish Including Koreans’ Favorite Rockfish
Creatrip Team
a month ago
Warm seas are causing mass die-offs at South Korean fish farms, with around 1.106 million farmed fish and 95 lines of sea squirts (멍게) lost so far this summer. The most affected species is rockfish (조피볼락, commonly called 우럭), a popular choice for Korean raw fish dishes (횟감). Losses were concentrated in three South Gyeongsang coastal counties—Namhae, Hadong and Tongyeong—where farms reported large mortalities of rockfish, flatfish, mullet and others, totaling about 1.106 million fish and 1.842 billion KRW in damage. Sea temperatures in some bays have reached 28–31.9°C, prompting authorities to expand high-temperature warnings across the province. Though only about 10% of the dead fish were market-size, current retail prices for flounder and rockfish remain steady; officials warn prices could change if die-offs spread. The government is boosting support for affected farms: faster insurance payouts for severe losses, increased disaster recovery budgets (up 153% to 33.2 billion KRW this year), higher restoration rates for 18 species, and adding seven more seed items for aid.
