• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.201-208
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• 2014

To date, no study has reported detailed morphological characteristics of Korean sea turtles. Due to the lack of such basic information on Korean sea turtles, further related studies have been difficult in South Korea. In this report, we determined the species and the sex of the one sea turtle caught from the Yellow Sea of Korea (Taean-gun, Chungcheongnamdo) on July 17, 2013, and described its detailed morphological characteristics. The sea turtle was identified as a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) by the presence of an interprefrontal scale on the head. The turtle had three times longer length between the edge of anal scute to the anus than that between the anus to tip of the tail, and the size of a pair of claws on the flippers were distinctively different, suggesting that the turtle was a male. Finally, the assumption that the sea turtle might be sexually mature is based on its body weight (59.95 kg), the maximum straight length of the carapace (72.5 cm), and the worn serrated parts at the edge of supracaudal scutes. The loggerhead sea turtle described in this study is the first record from the Yellow Sea of Korea.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.709-716
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• 2011

To investigate the distribution and migrations of sea turtles occurring in Korean waters, an adult female green sea turtle Chelonia mydas was tagged with a satellite transmitter and released at Busan in October 2009. The confirmation was made for the first time that the released green sea turtle migrated back to Korea after visiting Jeju Island and Japan for approximately 9 months. The green sea turtle spent the winter in Jeju and Japan because of low water temperatures in the East Sea and South Sea during winter months, which were not suitable for turtle survival. Compared with an immature green sea turtle that was released at Jeju Island, the adult green showed a markedly different migration pattern, suggesting that juvenile and adult greens move differently because of their peculiar life cycle and their stage of maturity, in addition to responses to temperature changes. Additional satellite tracking with increased representation of species, sexes and sizes of turtles, and regions is required to gather information on the distribution and movements of sea turtles in Korean waters.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.662-669
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• 2012

Bycatch and stranding of sea turtles from Jeju coastal water of Korea were monitered from 2008 to 2009. A total of 41 sea turtles, consisting of 12 greens (Chelonia mydas), 3 loggerheads (Caretta caretta), 1 hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and 25 unidentified species, were recorded and observed in those area. Reported stranding and bycatch reached to a peak in August. The largest number of bycatch occurred in the coastal waters around Aewol-eup located in northwest area of Jeju Island. Most of the bycatch were taken by set nets and gill nets, which prevailed over the fishing grounds in the coastal waters of the Jeju Island. It is suggested that an appropriate monitoring system be necessary to conserve endangered sea turtle species in Jeju of Korea.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.657-663
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• 2009

This paper reports the strandings of sea turtles on Korean shores monitored for the first time in 2008. A total of 19 sea turtles, consisting of 12 greens and 7 loggerheads, were recorded as stranded from the east coast to the south including Jeju Island. Reported strandings reached a peak in July and dominant area was Jeju Island. The curved carapace length of loggerhead sea turtles ranged 65-84.2cm and that of green sea turtles ranged 39.2-90cm, indicating most of them were immature to sub-adult. Out of 19 turtles, 11 were found dead with unknown reasons. Possible causes of death may include drawning by fishing gear, swallowing of marine debris, boat collision, and diseases. An immature green sea turtle tagged with a satellite transmitter spent winter near Jeju Island where it was released, suggesting that the Island provide immature greens a feeding ground. Considering thousands of sea turtles crawl on Japanese shores for nesting every year, the number of sea turtles reported in Korean waters was relatively small. Therefore, it is suggested that an appropriate monitoring system be necessary to protect and conserve endangered sea turtle species in Korean waters.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.589-600
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• 2022

Longline fishery targeting tunas and tuna-like species is known to produce a significant amount of catch not only for the target species, but also for ecologically related species like sharks, marine turtles, sea birds and marine mammals. Recognizing this seriousness, tuna related regional fisheries management organizations (t-RFMOs) have established conservation and management measures (CMMs) to reduce bycatch and/or interaction with ecosystem vulnerable species including sea turtles and are obliged to implement bycatch mitigation measures and guidelines on safe release to their member countries. Along with development and strengthening of those measures, various case studies have been conducting to verify the effectiveness of bycatch mitigation for ecologically related species. This study examines the background and progress on developing CMMs of t-RFMOs and regulation programs of the United States related to sea turtles, which have recently become one of the main issues, and reviews case studies on sea turtle bycatch mitigation measures to find out the effectiveness of reducing bycatch rate and impacts to the fisheries. In order to respond the consultation process on certification determination with the United States, it was confirmed the current status of implementation on related measures conducted by Korean tuna longline fishery based on scientific observer data and survey for captains. Even though all Korean tuna longline fleets belong to the deep-set longline fishery (100-300m), which is not subject to the obligation of those mitigation measures, they are voluntarily implementing both measures, use of circle hook and whole finfish bait, regardless of which RFMO's Convention area they operate. And the national regulatory and management programs for sea turtle bycatch prevention adopted by Republic of Korea seems to be comparable in effectiveness to that of the United Stated. However, Korea needs to take preemptive measures in establishing sustainable fisheries, including the protection of the marine ecosystem and environment, as stronger requests are anticipated to be made by the international community on this matter.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.377-381
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• 2014

In this study, we report for the first time a hybridization between Caretta caretta and Chelonia mydas in South Korea. On 7th May 2012, a sea turtle (Jeju sea turtle 01, JST01) was found in the east coast of Jeju Island, South Korea. The morphological characteristics of JST01 were compared with those of C. caretta and C. mydas that were frequently observed in Korean Seas. Interestingly, JST01 showed similar morphological characters such as body color, appearance of carapace, shape of upper beak, serration on marginal scute, and two claws with those of C. caretta. On the other hand, JST01 showed also similar patterns in several characteristics including the numbers of marginal, inframarginal and costal scute, smooth carapace without keel, no contact between costal scute and nuchal scute with those of C. mydas. From these results, we suggest that JST01 is one of hybrid animals bred between C. caretta and C. mydas, because JST01 has species-specific characters from both species. We anticipate that our study would be useful and have significant impact onto study inter-specific hybridization in the groups of sea turtle.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.199-205
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• 2013

Genomic DNAs were extracted from the turtle leg (Pollicipes mitella, 1798) population of Tongyeong, Yeosu and Manjaedo located in the southern sea of Korea. The turtle leg population from Tongyeong (0.929) exhibited higher bandsharing values than did turtle leg from Manjaedo (0.852). The higher fragment sizes (>1,200 bp) are much more observed in the Yeosu population. The number of unique loci to each population and number of shared loci by the three populations, generated by PCR using 7 primers in the turtle leg (P. mitella) population of Tongyeong, Yeosu and Manjaedo. Genetic distances among different individuals of the Tongyeong population of the turtle leg (lane 1-07), Yeosu population of the turtle leg (lane 08-14) and Manjaedo population of the turtle leg (lane 15-21), respectively, were generated using the CLASSIFICATION option in Systat version 10 according to the bandsharing values and similarity matrix. The dendrogram, obtained by the seven decamer primers, indicated three genetic clusters: cluster 1 (TONGYEONG 01 TONGYEONG 07), cluster 2 (YEOSU 08 YEOSU 14), and cluster 3 (MANJEDO 15 MANJEDO 21). Tongyeong population could be evidently discriminated with the other two Yeosu and Manjaedo populations among three populations. The longest genetic distance (0.305) was found to exist between individuals' no. 02 of the Tongyeong population and no. 13 of the Yeosu population. It seems to the authors that this is a result of a high degree of inbreeding in narrow region for a long while.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.203-217
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• 2021

Background: Sea turtles, which are globally endangered species, have been stranded and found as bycatch on the Korean shore recently. More studies on sea turtles in Korea are necessary to aid their conservation. To investigate the spatio-temporal occurrence patterns of sea turtles on the Korean shore, we recorded sampling locations and dates, identified species and sexes and measured sizes (maximum curved carapace length; CCL) of collected sea turtles from the year 2014 to 2020. For an analysis of diets through stomach contents, we identified the morphology of the remaining food and extracted DNA, followed by amplification, cloning, and sequencing. Results: A total of 62 stranded or bycaught sea turtle samples were collected from the Korean shores during the study period. There were 36 loggerhead turtles, which were the dominant species, followed by 19 green turtles, three hawksbill turtles, two olive ridley turtles, and two leatherback turtles. The highest numbers were collected in the year 2017 and during summer among the seasons. In terms of locations, most sea turtles were collected from the East Sea, especially from Pohang. Comparing the sizes of collected sea turtles according to species, the average CCL of loggerhead turtles was 79.8 cm, of green turtles was 73.5 cm, and of the relatively large leatherback turtle species was 126.2 cm. In most species, the proportion of females was higher than that of males and juveniles, and was more than 70% across all the species. Food remains were morphologically identified from 19 stomachs, mainly at class level. Seaweeds were abundant in stomachs of green turtles, and Bivalvia was the most detected food item in loggerhead turtles. Based on DNA analysis, food items from a total of 26 stomachs were identified to the species or genus level. The gulfweed, Sargassum thunbergii, and the kelp species, Saccharina japonica, were frequently detected from the stomachs of green turtles and the jellyfish, Cyanea nozakii, the swimming crab, Portunus trituberculatus, and kelps had high frequencies of occurrences in loggerhead turtles. Conclusions: Our findings support those of previous studies suggesting that sea turtles are steadily appearing in the Korean sea. In addition, we verified that fish and seaweed, which inhabit the Korean sea, are frequently detected in the stomach of sea turtles. Accordingly, there is a possibility that sea turtles use the Korean sea as feeding grounds and habitats. These results can serve as basic data for the conservation of globally endangered sea turtles.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.917-926
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• 2022

The green turtle Chelonia mydas has been designated as an endangered species globally due to its reduced population. Although C. mydas is not known to reproduce on the shores of the Korean peninsula, it has been listed as a protected marine species in South Korea. This study describes the first successful captive breeding of C. mydas in a commercial aquarium in South Korea and provides information on the early growth patterns of C. mydas hatched and reared in indoor facilities. C. mydas YS-B003 laid a total of 594 eggs in ten nesting events in the period December 2016-June 2017. Of these, 115 fertilized eggs from six events hatched successfully. The size of the newly hatched turtles differed significantly among nesting events. The hatchlings from the 8^th and 9^th nesting events were relatively smaller than those from the 3^rd and 5^th events. The rate of growth initially varied across the different events, but from the 1,000^th day, the inter-group variation disappeared. The present study provides useful information for future captive breeding of sea turtles in indoor facilities, which would contribute to the protection of these endangered sea turtle species.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.47-64
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• 2000

The purpose of this study was to search the calcium and iron rich foods in Korean people. The food sources presented in the current home economics textbooks of middle and high school were investigated. And 40 kinds of calcium and iron rich foods were selected by the quantity in 100g edible portion. one serving size and according to 1997 food supply data. Also 3 major food groups of calcium and iron supply in Korean were identified, and 10 rich foods for each food groups were selected. The results were summarized as follows. 1. The food sources of calcium 1) The food sources of calcium presented in the home economics textbooks of middle and high school are milk and dairy products. small fishes such as anchovy icefish and dried strip and green vegetables etc. 2) The calcium rich foods by 100g edible portion were in order of skim milk powder river snail sesame sea mustard. whole milk powder. snapping turtle loach sea tangle(dried) opossum shrimp and sea lettuce(dried). And the calcium rich foods by the calcium content in one serving were in order of river snail snapping turtle opossum shrimp loach spiny lobster skate skim milk powder small alaska pollack freshwater crab condensed milk whole milk powder skate ray and milk. 3) The 3 major calcium supply food groups in Korean were vegetables fish and shellfishes and milk and dairy products. 4) The calcium supply foods according to the quantity of food supply in 1997 was in order of sea mustard, milk anchovy chinese cabbage soybean skin milk powder laver shrimp welsh onion and maize. The vegetables were the important sources of calcium in Korean. 2. The food sources of iron 1) The food sources of iron which are commonly presented in the textbooks of middle and high school were meat liver egg(egg yolk) and green vegetables etc 2) The iron rich foods on the basis of the iron content in 100g edible portion were in order of surf clam marsh clam laver(dried)( sea lettuce(dried), crayfish pelilla seed little neck clam orient hard clam, venus clam, and freshwater carab. And the iron rich foods by the iron content in one serving were in order of surf clam marsh clam crayfish little neck clam orient hard clam freshwater crab venus clam hen cockle green confertii(fresh) pen shell and spiny lobster. 3) The 3 major iron supply food groups in Korean were cereals an cereal products fishes and shellfishes and vegetables. 4) The iron supply food according to the quantity of food supply in 1997 was in order of soybean sea mustard maize rice meat edible viscera laver wheat flour, pook, red pepper, egg and bovine meat.