CLIMATE CHANGE AND APPEARANCE OF SHARKS

[Anchor Lead]

Two large sharks were caught last month in the East Sea off Gangwon-do Province. Climate change has presumably caused the sharks to appear in Korean waters earlier than usual and in higher numbers.

[Pkg]

This is a shark found in waters off the coast of Goseong, Gangwon-do Province on April 26th. It measures 3.2 meters in length. It is identified as a shortfin mako shark, known to be fast-moving and highly aggressive. It was caught in a net only 2.8 kilometers away from the beach. On April 2nd, a 5-meter-long basking shark was caught in waters off Jumunjin in Gangneung. Last year, a mako shark and a salmon shark were caught in June and August on the eastern shores of Gangwon-do Province.

[Soundbite] Lee Min-ki(Korea Coast Guard) : "Sharks were spotted around June in 2021, but in 2022 they’re caught in April. Sharks are being spotted earlier and earlier."

Rising sea temperature due to climate change has presumably increased the number of sharks living in Korean waters. In fact, the water temperature around the Korean peninsula went up by 1.2 degrees Celsius in the past 50 years.

[Soundbite] Prof. Choi Yoon(Dept. of Marine Applied Biosciences, Kunsan Nat’l Univ.) : "Most of the sharks that grew in population are the ones that live in tropical or subtropical areas, such as Australia or south of Okinawa."

The Korea Coast Guard is not letting its guard down although it believes that human casualties from shark attacks are not very likely for now. However, an increase in the number of sharks could affect the marine ecosystem at large. Marine specialists point out that there should be more studies about the growing shark population and devising of necessary countermeasures.