"No One Else Succeeded, but Korea Did... World’s First Hatching of 500,000 'Legendary Deep-Sea Fish'"

Attention on Fisheries Resource Technologies Responding to Climate Change

The dotdom, so-called "legendary deep-sea fish" because only about 30 are caught each year, has been successfully artificially hatched for the first time in the world.

'120kg Deep-Sea Bigeye Trevally'. Photo by Yonhap News

Fruit of 10 Years of Research into Cultivating the 'Legendary Deep-Sea Fish'

A 32-day-old juvenile porgy recently successfully hatched artificially by the Gyeongbuk Province Fisheries Resources Research Institute. Gyeongbuk Province

On May 31, the Gyeongbuk Provincial Fisheries Resources Research Institute announced that it had secured 2 million fertilized eggs of the dotdom, a species with almost no prior aquaculture research, and succeeded in hatching 500,000 juveniles.

Since 2017, the institute has raised 28 young dotdom, each weighing between 50 and 700 grams, in land-based tanks over 10 years, successfully growing eight individuals to over 1 meter in length. Among these, two females spawned for the first time in May last year, but the fertilized eggs were not viable and hatching was unsuccessful.

This year, by supplying the proper amount of food, supplementing nutrition, and administering maturity hormone injections, the institute was able to secure 2 million fertilized eggs and successfully artificially hatch 500,000 juveniles. Currently, 200,000 juvenile dotdom, each about 1 cm in length, are being raised.

Dotdom Secured Through Research to Remain Under Study... "A Meaningful Project Reviving Marine Resources with Our Own Technology"

The research team plans to use the artificially hatched dotdom juveniles to conduct foundational research on early life stages, rearing environments, and live feed. The next step is to establish mass seed production technology, expanding the project to species conservation and fisheries resource restoration.

Because dotdom inhabit deep waters, their survival rate is extremely low due to decompression shock during capture, and even after hatching, it takes more than 8 to 10 years for them to grow to maturity. As a result, there have been virtually no cases of artificial seed production or aquaculture research worldwide. The significance of this research lies in reviving a rare marine resource disappearing due to climate change through domestic technology.

Dotdom, Once Only Caught in May and June, Were Caught in Large Numbers Last April... "Need for Ongoing Monitoring Due to Climate Change"

Five longtooth emperors caught in a single day near the seas off Busan last April. Photo by Yonhap News

Meanwhile, dotdom inhabit deep waters at depths of approximately 400 to 600 meters, growing up to 2 meters in length and weighing between 200 and 280 kg. During their spawning season in May and June, they move to warmer coastal waters, where they are occasionally caught in nets or by fishing. Their distribution is limited to certain parts of the northwestern Pacific, including Korea's east and south coasts, southern Japan, and Russia.

In Korea, only about 30 are caught each year, making them so rare that they are known as the "legendary deep-sea fish" that only those favored by the sea god can catch. Last April, five dotdom were caught in a single day in Busan, fueling speculation that this could be a sign of an impending major earthquake. At the time, an official from the National Institute of Fisheries Science said that while it is difficult to link the catches to seismic activity, changes in ocean environment and ecosystems due to climate change could alter the depth and timing of spawning for deep-sea species, highlighting the need for continued observation.

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