Beach Waters Filled With Dead Herry Fish, Changwon City Government Holds Investigation

The herring fish died in the coastal waters of Changwon City, South Korea. (Source: Changwon City Government via Korea Times)

JAKARTA - The City Government of Changwon, South Korea has launched an investigation into the discovery of dead herrings near the city's coastline since last week.

This strange incident in Masan Bay, according to the city government on Monday began on September 30, when authorities received reports of countless dead fish floating near the beach shooting location for TV shows in Masanhappo District.

Authorities received the same report on October 1 and 2 from ports in the Jindong area as well as near the sea park, all of which were also in Masanhappo.

The city government in South Gyeongsang Province finds it strange, baby fish from one particular species repeatedly found in different locations. An official from the Maritime Affairs, Port and Fisheries Bureau under the auspices of the city government said the latest cases "do not look like the typical examples of a large number of dead fish, which we have seen before," reported the Korea Times Oct. 5.

Related to that, the National Institute of Fisheries Sciences (NIFS) began a site investigation on Tuesday. Changwon Mayor Hong Nam-pyo also visited the site on Monday, urging city government fishery bureau officials to find a definite cause of the problem.

The city government asked the Southeast Sea Fisheries Laboratory under NIFS to investigate the location, to see if certain abnormal environmental conditions kill fish, such as sudden changes in sea water temperatures or marine pollution.

In addition, the city government sent fish samples to the NIFS for closer examination, the results of which would provide a more precise picture of the cause of death.

Not only that, the city government also suspects the fish could be thrown away secretly. Authorities asked local coast guards to investigate and consider it a possible reason.

It is known that large numbers of fish died in the Gulf of Masan in 2009 and 2012. However, the two incidents saw various dead species including flat bellfish and rempels, not just one species.

"Because the fish that died were just herrings, we think they didn't die because of the polluted water here," said Kim Jong-moon, a senior official from the Maritime Affairs, Port and Fisheries Bureau, who increased the possibility of the fish being dumped secretly.

In this regard, about 200 fishermen and officials from the city government cleaned up dead herring waters for more than three days. Authorities say they took nearly 20 tons of herring.

It is known that the area where the incident occurred was previously heavily polluted due to the country's rapid economic growth in the 1970s. But after national efforts to address environmental problems after 2000, water became cleaner.

A triathlon held on September 25 in Masan Bay proves that environmental improvements have taken place. The city government said that it was unlikely that fish would die in the bay due to polluted water, but most likely they were taken from other places and dumped in the bay.