Seoul has temporarily banned the catching of the wild pollack, or myeongtae ,... as the nation's favourite fish faces extinction in local waters.<br />The fisheries ministry said the law takes effect on Monday,... restricting the fishing of the species until the end of the year.<br />The number of wild pollack in Korean seas has fallen dramatically over the past two decades,... due to rising sea temperatures which have caused migration to cooler waters.<br />Around 10-thousand tons of the fish were caught every year up to 1991,... but the annual average has dropped to less than a ton since the late 2000s.<br />The fishing ban will be lifted once authorities decide fish stocks have recovered. <br />
