Mackerel Grow Scarce on Lunar New Year Tables... High Sea Temperatures and Falling Catches Fuel Supply Jitters

With climate change rapidly transforming marine ecosystems, a new assessment warns that supply instability is deepening for key seafood items such as mackerel, hairtail, and squid. It also recommends that the distribution industry move quickly to shift its supply chains toward a sustainability-centered model that goes beyond merely securing raw materials.

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) on the 17th, its recently published "Sustainable Seafood Report" analyzes how rising sea surface temperatures and ecosystem changes are affecting the entire spectrum of seafood production and distribution, and presents corporate response strategies.

The report explains that sea temperatures in the waters surrounding the Korean Peninsula have recently risen by about 2 to 4 degrees Celsius compared with the long-term average. As a result, habitat ranges of fish species are dispersing and juvenile fish densities are declining, accelerating ecosystem changes and reducing the output of major species.

The production volume of mackerel species was about 134,000 tons in 2024, falling short of the recent three-year average of 150,000 to 160,000 tons, while hairtail production also declined to 44,000 tons. Squid production plunged from 60,000 tons in 2021 to 36,000 tons in 2022 and has continued to fall since then.

Farmed seafood is also not free from the impact of higher water temperatures. For olive flounder and abalone, rising temperatures are driving up mortality rates, and wholesale prices of olive flounder have increased by more than 30% over the past two years. For migratory species such as Pacific bluefin tuna, changes in migration routes are making supply-and-demand forecasting increasingly difficult.

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The report finds that these changes are leading to lower production volumes, reduced species diversity, heightened supply uncertainty, and declining quality, all of which are directly affecting consumer prices.

As countermeasures, WWF proposes expanding the sourcing of internationally certified seafood, such as products certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), while also adopting global frameworks such as nature-related financial disclosure and science-based targets networks. It also identifies setting procurement priorities based on fishing risk levels and establishing supply chain monitoring systems as key tasks.

Lim Iksoon, Director of the Conservation Program Division at WWF Korea, said, "For distribution companies, transforming supply chains requires an integrated strategy that encompasses both the environment and the economy," adding, "Starting with seafood, we will expand sustainable procurement systems across a wide range of raw material categories."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.