Goseong-gun, a border county in Gangwon Province adjacent to North Korea, announced Thursday it will carry out a seaweed forest restoration project through October to rehabilitate coastal ecosystems and fishery habitats degraded by "urchin barrens," a phenomenon in which marine vegetation is stripped from the seafloor.
The project aims to restore seaweed forests and improve habitat conditions for marine life by systematically planting and managing seaweed suited to the environmental characteristics of each affected area.
The county has designated waters off Munam 1-ri in Jukwang-myeon as the project site and will invest 170 million won ($123,000) to install seaweed transplant structures, control herbivorous marine animals and conduct follow-up maintenance of existing artificial reefs.
Depending on conditions at each restoration site, the county also plans to reseed seaweed, collect and dispose of abandoned fishing gear and waste, and install and maintain artificial structures to create a stable environment for seaweed growth.
"Seaweed forests are a vital coastal ecosystem where diverse marine life can thrive," a Goseong-gun official said. "Through continuous restoration efforts and systematic follow-up management, we will work to revive the health of the coastal ecosystem and secure stable habitats for fishery resources."
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