High sea water temperatures drive seafood price hike

[Anchor]

Due to the high-temperature phenomenon, seafood prices are also rising significantly.

The catch of mackerel has sharply decreased, making the autumn mackerel season feel insignificant, and oysters and mussels ready for shipment are also dying one after another.

Kang Ji-a reports.

[Report]

The Jagalchi Market is bustling even on weekdays.

At this time of year, mackerel is the most popular.

[Kim Doo-hyung/Busan resident: "It's almost the end of autumn. This is when mackerel is the most delicious."]

However, this year, there are not many shops selling mackerel.

Most large supermarkets have completely stopped selling it.

[Shin Seong-beom/Jagalchi Market merchant: "Only the East Sea is producing, so the supply is very low. The prices were also quite high."]

As of August, the catch of mackerel was 3,380 tons, which is half of last year's amount.

Prices have also risen significantly, with the price of 1 kg of mackerel in the second week of this month increasing by 184% compared to a year ago.

It seems that the sharp decrease in catch is due to high sea water temperatures caused by the heatwave.

Shellfish like mussels and sea urchins are also rare.

[Kang Gi-sook/Jagalchi Market merchant: "This year, the quantity is low, so even when orders come in, we couldn't sell. It's very expensive, too."]

A bigger concern is the oysters and mussels ready for shipment.

This year, over 7,600 oysters have died due to high temperatures, which is eight times more than last year.

Mussels, which had no reported deaths last year, have already seen over 300 million die.

[Kim Woo-seok/Chairman of the Goseong Oyster Farming Association, Gyeongnam Province: "99%, 100% have died. I've been farming oysters for 40 years, and this is the first time."]

When the sea surface temperature exceeds 28 degrees, a high sea temperature alert is issued, which has lasted for 71 days this year, setting a record for the longest duration.

There are also forecasts that seafood prices will rise by 20-30% compared to last year in December.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to release a comprehensive plan for climate change in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors next month.

KBS News, Kang Ji-a.