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These days, spring crab fishing is in full swing in the West Sea, such as Yeonpyeong Island.
The spring crabs caught at this time of the year are full of eggs, and the catch has greatly increased compared to last year, making the port full of vitality.
Reporter Lee Yong-shik covered the story.
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It is the sea off Seocheon, Chungcheongnam-do, which is thickly dark.
Brightly lit crab fishing boats enter the port one after another.
It is now 2:40 in the morning.
The ships anchored in this port returned from fishing crabs at the coastal fishing grounds about 50 km from the coast.
Each box is filled with freshly caught blue crabs on board.
The harbor is full of vitality, and the fresh blue crabs are moved to the seafood market to start sorting.
[Kim Yang-ho/Crab selection union member: Even if it is difficult, there are a lot of blue crabs, so it is good.] Blue
crabs are sorted according to their weight and put up for auction.
Spring crab fishing, which started last month, is at its peak as the water temperature starts to rise early this month.
The catch also increased significantly, more than double that of the previous year in the coastal waters of Incheon, including Yeonpyeong Island, the largest fishing ground for blue crabs, and more than 30% in Chungcheongnam-do.
It is estimated that the density of young blue crabs less than 1 cm in size has increased and the water temperature has risen by about 0.5 degrees.
Blue crab, a turbulent fish, is active only when the water temperature is maintained at around 20 degrees Celsius.
In particular, in spring, many female crabs that come to the coast to lay their eggs are caught in the distant sea.
[Choi Eun-soo / President of Seocheon Fishermen's Association, Chungnam: Since we catch a lot of blue crabs, fishermen are very active.
The best time is around the end of May.]
Crab fishing in spring continues until the end of next month, which is the forbidden season.
(Video coverage: Hojun Choi)