▲ Submerged China Changjang
In 2016, there was a high possibility that the inflow of low-salt water from China, which had damaged the Jeju sea, could be reproduced, and Jeju Island was in danger.
Jeju Island announced today (31th) that it is predicting the movement of low salt water in the East China Sea by establishing a dedicated response system in cooperation with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the National Institute of Fisheries Science, and the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology.
In addition, depending on the water temperature and salinity concentration in Jeju sea, we will set a step-by-step action guideline to alert the Suhyup and fishing villages.
The province is considering measures such as bringing fishermen to move their marine aquatic products to other safe locations if the inflow of low salt water is severe.
Changjiang (Yangtze River), located in southern China, recorded 83,000 tons of water flowing per second on the 12th and recorded more than 70,000 tons of water on the 26th.
This is the largest ever since the Jeju Island Marine and Fisheries Research Institute began monitoring the flow of the Yangtze River in 2003.
In 2016, when the low-salt water was introduced from the Jeju sea, the amount of marine products was damaged, compared to 6,700 tons in 2016.
If this trend continues, low salinity water with a salt concentration of 30 psu (indicating the total amount of salt dissolved in 1 kg of seawater in g) may flow into the coast of Jeju.
Low salinity affects the regulation of osmotic pressure in aquatic life, which can lead to stress and even death.
In the meantime, China's floods caused marine debris to flow into Jeju's seas, and flooded nuclear power plants downstream of Changjang could lead to radioactive materials in the worst case.
(Photo = Yonhap News)