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Article

Seabird bycatch on the Northeast Coast of South Korea
Miran Kim1†
,
Mi-Jin Hong2†
,
Jin-Hwan Choi2
,
Ki-Baek Nam3*
1Seabirds Lab. of Korea, Wonju 26352, Korea
2Bird Research SaeZiP, Yangpyeong 12504, Korea
3Korea Institute of Ornithology, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Korea
*Corresponding Author
†These authors contributed equally to this work.
16 April 2026. pp. 1-10
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Abstract

Bycatch refers to the incidental capture of non-target species during fishing activities and is a significant factor threatening the survival of marine organisms, particularly seabirds. The East Sea coast of South Korea is a wintering area for seabirds, utilized annually by various species as foraging sites, and is an area where seabird mortality due to bycatch is expected. This study aimed to identify the status and timing of seabird bycatch through periodic field surveys and fisher interviews targeting 22 ports on the northeast coast of South Korea from 2019 to 2024. The results confirmed that a total of 586 individuals across 16 species were killed due to bycatch. Most affected species exhibited diving foraging behavior. The most frequently caught species was the Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus). Five marine protected species by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) identified in the bycatch included the Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata), Pelagic Cormorant (Urile pelagicus), Ancient Murrelet, Japanese Murrelet (S. wumizusume), and Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata). Bycatch occurred predominantly during winter in gillnet fisheries. There is an urgent need for systematic and precise surveys across the entire East Sea coast to develop measures for reducing seabird mortality.

Keywords
seabird
bycatch
East Sea
Ancient Murrelet
gillnet
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Information
  • Publisher :Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국해양과학기술원
  • Journal Title :Ocean and Polar Research
  • Journal Title(Ko) :Ocean and Polar Research
  • Volume : 48
  • Pages :1-10
  • Received Date : 2026-02-23
  • Revised Date : 2026-03-29
  • Accepted Date : 2026-03-30
  • Published Date : 2026-04-16
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.4217/OPR.2026010
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