East Sea fishers turn to octopus as squid disappear from warmer waters

Octopuses are replacing squid in the East Sea as the latter migrate north due to climate change, dramatically impacting the local fishing industry.

Dozens of small octopus boats moored at Daejin Port in Goseong County, Gangwon. [PARK JIN-HO, JOONGANG PHOTO]

Octopuses are replacing squid in the East Sea as the latter migrate north due to climate change, dramatically impacting the local fishing industry.

Fishing communities along Korea's East Coast have long depended on squid. But tropical species such as octopuses are taking over as the seas warm.

According to Statistics Korea, 870 tons of squid were caught in the first eight months of this year. That's a sharp drop from last year's 1,589 tons during the same period and dramatically lower than the 2,967-ton average in the same period over the previous three years.

On the other hand, fishers caught 982 tons of octopus between January and August.

The discrepancy was especially evident in summer. In July, East Sea fishers caught 64 tons of squid and 174 tons of octopuses.

In August, the squid catch was only half the octopus catch.

The province of North Gyeongsang was hit particularly hard. The province has seen a double-digit decline in squid fishing over the last decade.

Fishers in the province caught at least 60,000 tons in 2010. Last year, the catch plummeted to 9,817 tons.

In the first half of this year, the catch was a mere 1,355 tons.

Women put squid into boxes at Jumunjin Fish Market in Gangneung, Gangwon, in June. [YONHAP]

The resulting squid shortage has driven up prices.

In July, the consignment price of squid was 470,000 won ($361) for a 20-squid package. That's double and even triple the price in May when a package costs 150,000 to 200,000.

Fishing communities say the once-iconic squid is no longer the East Sea staple.

“Today, there are more octopuses than squids,” said Hwang Gwang-seok, the head of Geojin Longline Association, a regional fisheries association in Gangwon.

Hwang says he catches dozens of kilograms of octopus when he goes out. On days when he catches larger octopuses weighing more than 15 kilograms (33 pounds), the daily catch can easily surpass 100 kilograms.

Fishermen whose livelihoods used to depend on squid are redirecting their businesses toward octopus.

Dedicated octopus boats have tripled over the last decade.

There are more than 350 octopus boats in Goseong County, Gangwon, alone.

Fishing communities favor the switch to octopus because the eight-legged cephalopod is cheaper to catch than its ten-legged cousin.

Octopus boats are smaller and weigh less than 2 tons, making them more affordable. The smallest squid fishing boat is 9.77 tons, while larger ones can weigh around 60 tons.

Thanks to the surge in octopus boats, docks are overcrowded.

The Donghae Regional Office of Oceans and Fisheries had to spend 12.4 billion won on building extra docks for the smaller boats and reinforcing sea walls in the ports of Daejin and Gonghyeonjin.

The number of ships that catch squid by jigging has also been declining. The number of jigging boats peaked at 942 in 1997. Today, only 404 are operating.

In addition to climate change, North Korea's overfishing of squid is also devastating squid stocks in the East Sea.

North Koreans take in even the youngest squid caught in their fishing nets.

People jump into the water to catch squids at the squid-catching festival at Jangsa Port in Sokcho, Gangwon, in July 2018. [YONHAP]

With squid schools disappearing, popular festivals where participants caught squid with bare hands have stopped. Such festivals used to take place on public beaches along Gangwon's coast.

The festival at Jumunjin Beach in Gangneung, Gangwon, started in 2001.

In 2018, amberjack and fluke replaced squid as the city could no longer supply squid.

This year, the festival was canceled altogether.

Fisheries are struggling to supply squid to local restaurants, too.

Restaurant owners are now sourcing squid caught in the Yellow Sea. The waters in front of Taean County, South Chungcheong, become a rich squid fishing ground every summer.

Squid dishes sold by seafood vendors in Gangwon. The left dish is raw sliced squid and the right is steamed squid. [KIM CHUN-SIK, JOONGANG PHOTO]

Small vendors along the coastal line of Gangwon used to be famous for squid dishes such as steamed squid and squid mulhoe, a dish of raw squid and assorted vegetables served in a spicy chilled broth.

Vendors at Sokcho Port in Gangwon are closed. [PARK JIN-HO, JOONGANG PHOTO]

Now, most of those vendors are closed. When the price of a single squid reached 23,500 won, most owners quit.

Out of 20 vendors, only five or six have survived. And only barely at that.

As wholesale prices for squid climb, restaurant owners are hiking up their menu prices. Aghast at the new prices, visitors are shunning the restaurants.

“I have never seen squid prices this high in 30 years. Vendors are selling dishes at almost no margin. But, customers think the dishes are overpriced. Fisheries are also suffering from operational deficits because there are fewer catchable squid than before,” said Kang Mi-sun, who has run a squid vendor for more than three decades.

BY LEE HO-JEONG, LEE SOO-JUNG, PARK JIN-HO [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]