South Korea fishery disasters escalate due to rising water temperatures

South Korea is facing escalating fishery disasters due to climate change, with high water temperatures causing record-breaking losses. In 2024, fishery disaster damages exceeded 150 billion won, with temperature anomalies accounting for over 80% of the impact.

In Gyeongsangnam-do, a 68-day high-temperature alert resulted in 27.7 billion won in damages across 425 aquaculture farms, causing the death of millions of fish, abalone, and sea squirts. The provincial government plans to provide 3.4 billion won in emergency disaster relief before the Chuseok holiday.

Experts and industry observers are calling for a fundamental overhaul of the current response system. Critics point out that the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries lacks a dedicated legal framework and specialized personnel, currently relying on a small task force of approximately four people. There are urgent calls for the enactment of a ‘Fishery Disaster Countermeasures Act’ and the establishment of a digital platform to replace manual, Excel-based management of fishing licenses and disaster history to enable real-time, predictive responses.