The tragedy of the Jeju sea, another baby Southern resident orca caught in fishing gear

A baby Southern resident orca caught in fishing gear has once again been discovered in the seas off Jeju, raising concerns about the protection of the marine ecosystem.

According to documentary director Oh Seung-mok (Documentary Jeju) on the 27th, footage captured on the previous day (26th) at around 1:50 PM showed a baby dolphin swimming alongside its mother in the waters of Jongdal-ri, Gujwa-eup, Jeju City, entangled in fishing gear.

Director Oh explained, "On the 24th, we received a report from a yacht company called 'Kimnyeong Yacht' about a baby dolphin caught in fishing line, leading us to conduct a detailed monitoring. As a result, we were able to find the dolphin two days later in the same area."

The video shot at the scene clearly captured the baby dolphin with fishing gear wrapped around its fin and tail.

Notably, it was also recorded that an adult dolphin known as 'Haenguni,' which had already been reported to be caught in fishing gear, was swimming nearby with the baby dolphin and its mother.

The crisis of the endangered Southern resident orca, marine litter problem serious

This incident is particularly disheartening as it occurred just as discussions to urgently rescue Haenguni were beginning.

It is known that only about 120 Southern resident orcas, an international endangered species, inhabit the waters off Jeju, making their protection an urgent matter.

Director Oh emphasized, "Currently, both Haenguni and the newly discovered baby dolphin are showing good movement and condition, but systematic management of fishing practices is absolutely necessary as the Jeju sea is suffering from marine debris."

Even more heartbreaking is the fact that another tragic scene was captured on the same day in the nearby waters.

An unfortunate sight was witnessed where a mother dolphin was repeatedly lifting another baby Southern resident orca, which appeared to be dead, to the surface.

According to Director Oh, there have been four officially confirmed deaths of baby dolphins in Jeju this year.

This brings to mind the case of 'Jongdali,' a baby dolphin caught in fishing line in November 2023.

At that time, citizen groups and emergency dolphin rescue teams attempted multiple rescues, but Jongdali ultimately disappeared after around one year and eight months, and is presumed to have effectively perished.

Image source: Documentary Jeju.