[News Today] Cod catch drops in Geoje

[LEAD]
Winter cod, a seasonal staple along Korea's southern coast, is normally at its peak.

But catches have fallen sharply this year.

The drop is so severe that even a long-running cod festival has been postponed.

[REPORT]
The waters off Jinhae Bay in Gyeongsangnam-do Province, Korea's largest cod fishing ground.

When fishermen haul up nets set a week earlier, they are filled only with snailfish.

Just two cod are caught in the net.

Nets in a different spot are pulled up, but again there are only two cod.

The fishing boat caught only about 10 cod from two fishing runs in a day.

Park Young-ki / Fisherman
Hotter summers mean sea temperatures drop slower than before.
As a result there are less cod to catch.

Cod catches in the Geoje area continue to decline.

It plunged to 15,000 last year, about a tenth of the 160,000 recorded in 2021.

The downward trend is continuing this year.

Even during the peak season, cod has become rare, hurting the cod festival as well.

The festival, usually held in December, has been delayed to next year for the first time in 20 years.

Fishermen suspect the drop in cod catches is due to rising sea temperatures.

Eom Jun / Geoje Fisheries Cooperative
When the sea temperature falls below 12 degrees cod come in to Geoje.
But that drop is about 20 days late.

To help restore cod catches, fishermen are calling for adjusting or abolishing the closed fishing season that is set to start in the middle of next month.

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