BROWN TROUTS POSE THREAT TO KOREA'S ECOSYSTEM

[Anchor Lead]

Brown trouts have been spotted in the Soyanggang River in Gangwon-do Province. The discovery of the alien species is raising an alarm for South Korea's ecosystem.

[Pkg]

​A fish the size of a grown-up's palm... It has dozens of black and red dots across the body. Also, sports yellowish fins. The national Institute of Ecology identified it as a brown trout, a species of salmonid fish, mainly found in Europe and America. They can grow up to be over a meter long.

[Soundbite] CHOI JAE-SEOK(KANGWON NATIONAL UNIVERSITY) : "While growing, the brown trout will eat bigger fish. A one-meter-long brown trout will eventually prey on Korea's indigenous fish."

The brown trout was spotted in a stream below the Soyangang River Dam. Some fishermen claim to have caught brown trout, longer than their arm.

[Soundbite] PARK JEONG(FISHERMAN) : "Members of my fishing club sometimes catch brown trouts. It's big. A dream-come-true for fishers."

The fish is an alien species that is new to domestic academics. Ecologists express concerns over how the brown trout could seriously disrupt the Bukhangang River ecosystem.

[Soundbite] LEE CHAE-SEONG(GANGWON AQUATIC RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE) : "It must be identified. Foreign species can be naturalized. It is crucial to block reckless introduction of foreign species."

In order to prevent a possible environmental damage by the foreign species, experts highlight the urgency of conducting an emergency study on how and when it arrived in South Korea, as well as the scope of its existence across the nation.