FOREIGN MARINE ALGAE POSE THREAT TO JEJUDO

[Anchor Lead]

These days shores on Jejudo Island are tormented by sargassum, a type of seaweed, which has flooded in from China through ocean currents. To make matters worse, sea lettuce which belongs to the green algae family, has also been spreading in recentdays. Follow us to the scene.

[Pkg]

​Brownish lumps are seen floating about on the water. These are sargassum detected along Jejudo shorelines since last month. It's become a cause for concern. Over 5000 tons of the seaweed were collected around Jeju coasts this year alone, the largest amount yet in the past 5 years. Their influx seems to be dwindling but satellite photos still show clear spots of marine algae concentration.

[Soundbite] KIM SANG-IL(NAT'L INSTITUTE OF FISHERIES SCIENCE) : "They may not be observed temporarily on coastlines but given our monitoring data, the seaweed is still detected in the far seas. We need to be on alert through late June."

Alongside the sargassum onslaught, there's another unwelcome visitor tormenting the island. The green algae or sea lettuce, jumbled with sand, has completely covered one corner of a beach. It's an annual nuisance, spoiling Jejudo's maritime scenery and inconveniencing tourists.

[Soundbite] JIN MIN-GYU(TOURIST) : "I was here last week and there was no algae then. They are slimy and unpleasant. There are other beaches free of such organisms."

With a month left until beach openings, the resort island is facing quite a predicament due to these types of seaweed and algae.