Korea's wild pollock population, considered close to extinction for over a decade, may be making a comeback.
Over 200 were recently caught in waters off the eastern coast of Korea.
Park Se-young has more.
These young pollock, estimated to be about a year old, were caught off the coast of Goseong County, Gangwon-do province.
They were donated by the fishermen to be used for research.
Over 200 pollock were caught in April, …the first time the fish have been caught in such large numbers in Korean waters since 2006.
According to the DNA analysis of the fish that failed to survive, around 30 were confirmed to be from the wild.
Back in the 1980s, over 140 thousand tons of pollock were caught each year.
However, experts blame global warming and overfishing for the rapid decline of the pollock population in Korea.
From 2015 to 2017, Gangwon-do province released over 300 thousand young fish into Korean waters to help the population recover.
Starting this year, the government plans to increase the number to one million a year.
"We've secured a certain amount of technical skills. We plan to produce even more fish for release."
With the recovery project on track, experts expect Korean pollock to reappear on dinner tables by 2020.
Park Se-young, Arirang News.
