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The phenomenon of mass-dead sardines flooding in off the coast of Masan, Gyeongsangnam-do has been going on for over a fortnight.
More than 200 tons have already been collected, but the exact cause is still unknown.
Nearby residents are complaining of suffering from the stench.
Reporter Lee Jae-kyung reported.
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A shoreline off the coast of Masan, Changwon-si, was covered with white sardines with their boats exposed.
The fishermen keep trying to get the dead fish out, but the work never ends.
It was initially known as a herring, but as a result of an investigation, it was confirmed as a sardine characterized by a dotted line on the side of the body.
At first, it was assumed that it was a temporary phenomenon caused by sardine fishing boats dumping too many caught sardines into the sea, but recently the size of the sardines that are dying has increased sharply once more.
The cause of the mass death of the sardines is not yet clear, but the city of Changwon requested the National Fisheries Research Institute and the Changwon Coast Guard to investigate the cause.
Is there any other cause other than artificial disposal?
I looked into the sea offshore.
A swarm of silver fish fills the screen.
The sardines move in groups, and they pour out endlessly so that you can’t see the end.
The movement of a group of ‘Ayebaekeo’ chasing a herd of sardines was also caught.
[임현정 / 국립수산과학원 남동해수산연구소장]
“If you look at the fluctuations in catches (sardines) over the past five years, it is found that the catches in January and March were high and the catches were low in the fall. Therefore, the mass influx of sardines in Masan Bay in October and mass mortality appear to be an unusual phenomenon.”
Lack of dissolved oxygen in the sea is also pointed out as one of the causes of death, but the fact that other fish did not die, this mass death is considered more unusual.
The National Academy of Fisheries Science is due to release the results of an investigation into the cause of the mass death of sardines within this week.
This is Lee Jae-kyung from MBC News.
Video coverage: Son Won-rak (Gyeongnam)
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