Protected Species: Fish You Must Release
Korea's rivers and seas hold fish whose numbers have fallen so far that the law protects them. Catching, keeping or raising them without a permit is prohibited. Even if anglers don't target them, one can bite by accident, so it helps to know their names, looks and what to do.
Different kinds of protection
- Endangered wildlife: designated by the Ministry of Environment, in Class I and Class II by level of risk.
- Natural Monuments: species or habitats of high scientific value protected as national heritage.
- Protected marine species: sea life designated by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, including seahorses and some sharks and whales.
Protected species of rivers and lakes
The Korean spotted barbel lives on gravel beds in clear rivers and is famous for piling gravel into a tower after spawning; it's both a Natural Monument and endangered. The Korean stumpy bullhead is a small catfish of clear upper Nakdong streams and is Class I endangered. The golden mandarin fish is a gold-colored mandarin fish and a Natural Monument. The Manchurian trout, a salmon relative found only in cold, clear valleys, is endangered, and parts of its habitat are protected as Natural Monuments.
Protected species of the sea
Seahorses live in seagrass beds, gripping the grass with their tails. They swim slowly, so when seagrass disappears they disappear too. Seahorses, including the three-spot and thorny seahorse, are protected marine species. The scalloped hammerhead, a shark with a hammer-shaped head, has declined sharply worldwide and is a protected marine species in Korea too.
If you hook one by accident
- If possible, keep it in the water and remove the hook or cut the leader there.
- If you've landed it, handle it briefly with wet hands; take a photo if you like, but return it quickly.
- If a seahorse comes up tangled in seaweed, don't touch it; put it back with the seaweed.
- Don't haul a shark aboard, and keep your hands away from its sharp teeth.
- Not fishing at all in valleys or reserves where protected species live is the best protection.
Protected species lists and classes can change. Check the latest from Korea's Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and Korea Heritage Service.