TROUTS LEFT AFTER FESTIVAL CAUSE PROBLEMS

[Anchor Lead]

Trout fishing is still ongoing in Pyeongchang where a trout ice fishing festival was held three months ago. The trout, a foreign species that is known to prey on indigenous fish, is believed to have escaped to the downstream area and may disrupt Korean rivers' ecosystem.

[Pkg]

​A trout fishing festival venue in Pyeongchang. Holes were drilled for ice fishing. This is what it looks like three months after the event ended. There's no ice, but people are still fishing.

[Soundbite] "What is it? (This is a rainbow trout.) Trout? (Yes.)"

Rainbow trout is a foreign species that originated from the U.S. This fish is believed to have been released during the festival. 43 centimeters long. Weighing in at about a kilogram each. A dissection was carried out to check out its diet.

[Soundbite] CHOI JAE-SEOK(DIR., RESEARCH CENTER FOR FISH, KANGWON NAT'L UNIV.) : "This is definitely a fish bone, proving that it ate other fish."

With sharp-teeth, this trout ranks among the top freshwater predators.

[Soundbite] CHOI JAE-SEOK(DIR., RESEARCH CENTER FOR FISH, KANGWON NAT'L UNIV.) : "This means that the trout prey on indigenous fish and may disrupt the Korean river ecosystem."

It appears the trouts were not fully recovered after the festival. That wasn't the only problem. Apparently, some trouts escaped to the downstream area. Nearly 60 millimeters of rain poured down during the festival, flooding the festival site where the trouts were kept.

[Soundbite] KIM OH-YEONG(CHAIR, PYEONGCHANG TROUT FESTIVAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE) : "Summer-like rain during the winter caused a lot of damage and some fish escaped."

Some 20 fish-related festivals are held nationwide. Detailed studies must be carried out to gauge if the festivals adversely impact the ecosystem.