[Provided by Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant]
[Provided by Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant]

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power's Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant released 60,000 bastard halibut fry into the waters off Jinri Port in Yangnam-myeon, Gyeongju, on Friday to mark the 31st Ocean Day.

Beyond its own coastal waters, Wolsong also supplied 90,000 bastard halibut fry and 60,000 abalone spat — raised at the plant's thermal discharge aquaculture facility — to support release events at the neighboring Gori, Saewul and Hanul nuclear power plants.

Since 1999, Wolsong has run an annual program releasing bastard halibut fry and abalone spat bred at its thermal discharge aquaculture facility, aiming to improve the marine ecosystem near the plant and boost income for local fishermen.

Now in its 28th year, the program has released a cumulative total of approximately 7.76 million marine creatures, including abalone, red sea bream, olive flounder and bastard halibut.

On Friday, participants conducted a first release of bastard halibut fry inside Jinri Port before boarding fishing vessels for a second release along the coastal waters surrounding the Haseo fishing village cooperative's shared fishing grounds, the event's host site.

"We will continue to work toward building a sustainable marine ecosystem and advancing the local fishing industry through aquaculture technology that makes use of thermal discharge water," plant chief Kwon Won-taek said.


kbj7653@heraldcorp.com