◀ Anchor ▶
The severe cold wave this winter is affecting the sea as well.
The temperature of the sea water also dropped, and 1.23 million fish died in a fish farm on the southern coast.
Reporter Danbi Kim on the sidewalk.
◀ Report ▶
Fish float on the water with their white bellies exposed.
Each of the fish farms is full of dead fish that have not yet floated in the water.
30,000 red sea bream raised for two years died within a week.
The fishermen are in a state of despair as the fish that were scheduled to be shipped this fall are killed in droves.
[김상심 / 양식장 피해 어민]
″I really live only looking at this… All the hard work last summer just went to waste… ″
At 20 fish farms near Dolsan and Nammyeon, Yeosu, Jeollanam-do, 1.235 million fish and rockfish died en masse.
70% of the stock is dead.
Low water temperature due to the cold wave that lasted until the beginning of this month is estimated to be the most likely cause of death.
In coastal waters close to the land, the depth of the water is low, so the temperature of the water drops due to the cold wave.
The amount of damage calculated so far is over 4.1 billion won, but only two farms have signed up for aquaculture disaster insurance.
Aquaculture fishermen who do not have insurance can only receive up to 50 million won in disaster recovery costs, but they are devastated to pay the cost of carcass disposal with an unacceptably low recovery cost.
[임영철 / 양식장 피해 어민]
″You should take out insurance with a fair amount of pressure. Because this is perishable… And the government subsidy cap is absurdly low.″
Jeollanam-do and Yeosu City have begun to prepare countermeasures such as raising disaster recovery costs and relocating wintering sites, along with identifying the exact cause.
The low water temperature warning in the Yeosu sea has been downgraded to a warning, but the damage is expected to increase further as the live fish are also in poor condition.
This is MBC News Kim Dan-bi.
Video coverage: Jeong Eun-yong / Yeosu