99% Gone... "No Way to Make a Living" as Squid Stocks Dry Up, Ulleungdo Sighs

Once More Than 11,000 Tons Were Caught... Now Just 141 Tons
"A Comprehensive Plan for a Ulleung-Style Fisheries Transformation Is Needed"

Squid, once Ulleungdo, North Gyeongsang Province's signature seafood and a pillar of the local economy, has seen its catch plunge, deepening fishermen's concerns.

Squid caught off Ulleungdo being dried. Ulleung County.

According to Ulleung County and the Ulleungdo-Dokdo Ocean Research Station of the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology on November 15, the squid catch in Ulleung fell from 11,315 metric tons in 2000 to 1,852 metric tons in 2015, 1,172 metric tons in 2020 and 141 metric tons in 2025. Over 25 years, the catch dwindled to just 1.2% of its previous level. From January to September this year, the catch totaled only 54 metric tons.

The decline in squid around Ulleung has been attributed to changes in the food chain caused by rising water temperatures due to climate change, overfishing and fishing by Chinese vessels. The National Institute of Fisheries Science analyzed that as average water temperatures at depths of 50 meters (12-18°C) and surface temperatures (15-23°C) in the southern East Sea, a key squid habitat, have risen compared with the past, squid that would normally grow in Korean waters have moved north toward Russia and other areas.

More fishing boats in Ulleung are giving up squid fishing. The related industries have naturally contracted as well, affecting the entire fishing ecosystem. This has fueled calls for a comprehensive plan to ensure the survival of local fisheries, including developing alternative income-generating species and promoting aquaculture, moving away from the existing fishery structure's reliance on a single species.

Last month, Ulleung County also took on the challenge of farming goldeye rockfish as an alternative fishery resource to squid. However, this, too, remains only at the pilot-project stage. Considerable time and investment will be needed before it becomes a practical source of income. The county has previously tried farming various seafood products, including shrimp, red sea cucumbers and Korean rockfish, but none has yet taken hold enough to replace squid.

Jeong Yuntae, a member of the Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Assembly, stressed, "Although Gyeongsangbuk-do is pursuing a 'Great Transformation of Fisheries' by investing 560 billion won through 2030, practical support measures for Ulleung County remain inadequate. A comprehensive plan for a Ulleung-style transformation of fisheries is therefore needed."

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