A tropical fish species is in the north of the East Sea...the sea changed by warming

[Anchor]
The sea ecosystem is rapidly changing as the temperature of the East Sea rises sharply due to global warming.

Tropical fish species are found in the northernmost part of the east coast, and the turbulent defense, which used to represent Jeju, is much more caught on the east coast.

Reporter Song Se-hyuk reports.

[Reporter]
The northernmost part of the east coast, under the sea of Ayajin, Goseong, Gangwon-do.

A flat-bodied fish moves slowly like a flutter.

It is a tropical fish species called 'Batfish' because it resembles a bat.

It is very unusual for a swallow's bowlerfish to be found in the northernmost part of the east coast.

[Kang Daejun / Skin diver: The first thing that came to my mind was, "Oh, why is this here? [It's definitely a fish species that should be in the Philippines] [That's why it's included in the video]

Nearby artificial underwater fish reefs have found the carcass of a subtropical species of shark.

Blue sea bream and humpback sea bream, which were usually seen on Jeju and the southern coast, are also being seen one after another on the east coast of Gangwon-do.

Experts analyze that rising water temperatures are responsible for accelerating the northward movement of southern sea fish species.

Over the past 55 years, the global surface temperature has risen by an average of 0.5 degrees, and during the same period, the East Sea has risen by 1.82 degrees.

Due to the steep rise in water temperature, the fisheries map is also changing significantly.

The defense of the turbulent fish species, which represented Jeju, exceeded 10,000 tons in catch on the east coast last year, seven times that of Jeju.

On the other hand, squid, a symbol of the east coast, have reduced their catch by 95% compared to 20 years ago as fishing grounds move north due to rising water temperatures.

[Kim Maeng-jin / Donghae Fisheries Research Institute: Rising water temperature affects the decrease of Korean sea fish species such as pollock and sandfish, and the increase of turbulent fish species such as horse mackerel....]

It seems urgent to come up with a fisheries policy to respond to the rapidly changing sea environment.

I'm YTN's Song Sehyuk.