Korea's wild pollock population, considered close to extinction for over a decade, may be making a comeback.<br />Over 200 were recently caught in waters off the eastern coast of Korea.<br />Park Se-young has more. <br /> These young pollock, estimated to be about a year old, were caught off the coast of Goseong County, Gangwon-do province.<br />They were donated by the fishermen to be used for research.<br />Over 200 pollock were caught in April, …the first time the fish have been caught in such large numbers in Korean waters since 2006.<br />According to the DNA analysis of the fish that failed to survive, around 30 were confirmed to be from the wild.<br /><br /> Back in the 1980s, over 140 thousand tons of pollock were caught each year.<br />However, experts blame global warming and overfishing for the rapid decline of the pollock population in Korea.<br />From 2015 to 2017, Gangwon-do province released over 300 thousand young fish into Korean waters to help the population recover.<br />Starting this year, the government plans to increase the number to one million a year.<br /><br /> "We've secured a certain amount of technical skills. We plan to produce even more fish for release."<br /><br /> With the recovery project on track, experts expect Korean pollock to reappear on dinner tables by 2020.<br />Park Se-young, Arirang News. <br />
