Looking Into the Southern Sea... The Disappearing 'Marine Forests'

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Due to recent climate change and rising water temperatures, underwater landscapes are changing dramatically. Fish that once could only be seen in the waters off Jeju have now moved up to the Southern Sea, and marine forests are gradually disappearing.

Reporter Jang Seon-i has the story.

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Baekdo Island in Dadohaehaesang National Park is a two-hour boat ride from Yeosu, Jeollanam-do.

We approached the island closely by a small boat.

This is the sea in front of Baekdo. As access is restricted and human touch is rare, the marine life living here is changing as water temperatures rise.

A professional diving team descended to a depth of 20 meters.

Spotted are the orange sea fans (Euplexaura crassa), an endangered species spread out like hand fans, and soft corals that once could only be found in the waters of Jeju.

[Ahn Jung-gwan / Researcher, Marine Research Center, National Parks Research Institute: Subtropical soft coral species such as Dendronephthya gigantea, Dendronephthya castanea, and Cirrhipathes spicifera, which were previously reported to grow only in Jeju Island, have moved significantly northward.]

Soft corals have been expanding their habitats for three consecutive years.

The long-branched gorgonian, a natural monument, is also visible.

The long-branched gorgonian is one of the climate change indicator species showing the subtropicalization of the ocean.

Other climate change indicator species, such as the yellow damselfish (Chrysiptera parasema), blue damselfish, and yellow boxfish, were also confirmed in this survey.

Rising water temperatures are the direct cause.

[Kim Dae-won / Senior Researcher, Korea National Park Service: The surface temperature of the sea around South Korea has increased by about 1.36 degrees Celsius over the past 58 years, and warming is progressing at a very fast pace, about 2.1 times the global average.]

In a 2014 survey, Baekdo was the island with the most seaweed identified among 11 islands in the Southern Sea, with 117 species.

However, by 2024, the number of seaweed species dropped to 97.

Researchers analyze that as water temperatures rise, so-called marine desertification is taking place and the population of herbivorous rabbitfish feeding on seaweeds is increasing, causing marine forests to disappear.

Marine forests, which are seaweed colonies, absorb 337 tons of carbon dioxide per square kilometer.

While artificial marine forests are being created in the East Sea, where water temperature is rising nine times faster than the global average, the underwater scenery of the Korean Peninsula's Southern Sea is also rapidly changing.

(Video Journalist: Yang Ji-hoon | Video Editor: Park Chun-bae | Footage Provided by: Korea National Park Service)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.