FRESHWATER GUDGEONS

[Anchor Lead]

The Korean indigenous fish called 흰수마자, a type of freshwater gudgeon that's classified as a Class 1 endangered species, disappeared some 80 years ago. But recently it's been spotted in the Geumgang River, raising expectations of ecological restoration.

[Pkg]

Mihocheon Stream in Cheongju. The largest tributary of the Geumgang River. A fish swims close to the sandy river floor. It has brown spots and white stripes. The white whiskers are among its signature attributes. The freshwater gudgeon, a Class 1 endangered species, was recently spotted in the Mihocheon Stream.

[Soundbite] PARK HYUN-SOO(ASSOCIATION FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION) : "The freshwater gudgeon only lives in streams with sand. The water level in this stream is lower than it was during our previous survey. It has a more vast area of sand now."

The stream used to be polluted with waste water from nearby factories and livestock farms. Experts believe the fish returned to the stream after the water quality improved recently. The polluted water was washed away last Summer by heavy rain and the water released from the Daecheong Dam. Some say another contributing factor is the water level, which went down after the opening of the Sejong Weir during the restoration of the four rivers project. But it's still unclear if the freshwater gudgeon lived in the stream before the water level dropped or if it returned from downstream.

[Soundbite] BANG IN-CHUL(SOONCHUNHYANG UNIVERSITY) : "This species grows in the tributary before it returns to the main stream for spawning. It must migrate for spawning, but the migration routes are blocked."

Researchers are analyzing the DNA of the freshwater gudgeon discovered near the Sejong Weir last year and the fish in the Mihocheon stream to find out if they are identical.