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IUCN CSG웹사이트에 올라온 플랜오션
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Conservation Action for Endangered narrow-ridged finless porpoises in the Republic of Korea
IUCN – SSC Cetacean Specialist Group / Uncategorized / Conservation Action for Endangered narrow-ridged finless porpoises in the Republic of Korea
13May 2025
Conservation Action for Endangered narrow-ridged finless porpoises in the Republic of Korea
Plan Ocean, an NGO founded in the Republic of Korea by CSG member Dr. Youngran Lee, works in close collaboration with government stakeholders to promote conservation action for narrow-ridged finless porpoises (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis or NRFP). The species has been assessed as Endangered on the Red List (Wang and Reeves 2017), with the greatest threat believed to be bycatch in stow-net fisheries, which causes thousands of mortalities annually (Brownell et al., Park et al. 2015, Brownell Jr et al. 2019).
Dr. Lee is a veterinary pathologist, specializing in Necropsy. In 2018, during her time working with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), she collaborated with a television production team to make a documentary about the alarming levels of bycatch occurring in fisheries in Korea, and since then has been combining her technical expertise with outreach, education and communication as a means of changing public perception, policy, and motivation to reduce bycatch and protect dolphins.
In 2020, Dr. Lee worked with WWF and the IUCN SSC Marine Conservation Committee and Cetacean Specialist group to draft a motion for the 2020 IUCN World Congress, which was passed as Recommendation 094: Safeguarding the narrow-ridged finless porpoise in the Yellow Sea. From 2021 onward Dr. Lee and colleagues in Plan Ocean have been working to implement this important recommendation through the following actions that address all the elements of the IUCN SSC Assess-Plan-Act-Network- Communicate cycle:
Collaborating with relevant government agencies to investigate cetacean mortalities and promote cetacean research and conservation.
Hosting annual national and regional meetings on cetacean research and conservation, leading to the formation of a regional Finless Porpoise Conservation Network (FPCN), with representation from China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan in 2024.
Appearing on multiple television talk shows (see links below) and other news media to share information about NRFPs, and collaborating on a new three-part documentary that will feature NRFP among Korea’s endangered native species.
Hosting booths, side-events, and delivering key-note speeches at national and international meetings and conferences, including a side event Collaborating for Conservation: Protecting the Yellow Sea’s Biodiversity and Ecosystems during the Our Ocean Conference in Busan, Korea in June 2025. These events focus on conservation solutions, such as the porpoise excluder devices being tested with some success in the Korean stownet fisheries (Lee et al. 2021, Jung et al. 2024), and regional collaboration to develop and implement measures such as marine protected areas.
Participating in the North-East Asia Marine Protected Areas Network (NEAMPAN) Expert Group Meeting, where Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Russian stakeholders will convene to discuss marine mammal conservation around the NEAMPAN area.
References
Brownell Jr, R. L., R. R. Reeves, A. J. Read, B. D. Smith, P. O. Thomas, K. Ralls, M. Amano, P. Berggren, A. M. Chit, T. Collins, R. Currey, M. L. L. Dolar, T. Genov, R. C. Hobbs, D. Kreb, H. Marsh, M. Zhigang, W. F. Perrin, S. Phay, L. Rojas-Bracho, G. E. Ryan, K. E. W. Shelden, E. Slooten, B. L. Taylor, O. Vidal, W. Ding, T. S. Whitty, and J. Y. Wang. 2019. Bycatch in gillnet fisheries threatens Critically Endangered small cetaceans and other aquatic megafauna. Endangered Species Research 40:285-296.
Jung, J.-M., M.-S. Park, and K.-S. Choi. 2024. A Study on the Catch Losses and Mesh Selectivity Related to the Attachment of Marine Mammal Bycatch Reduction Devices on Midwater Trawl Gear. Fishes 9:391.
Lee, G.-H., D.-H. Song, and H.-Y. Kim. 2021. Characteristics of catch losses in stow nets with finless porpoise excluder devices and a strategy to reduce them. Regional Studies in Marine Science:102147.
Park, K. J., H. Sohn, Y. R. An, H. W. Kim, and D. H. An. 2015. A New Abundance Estimate for the Finless Porpoise Neophocaena asiaeorientalis on the West Coast of Korea: An Indication of Population Decline. Fisheries and aquatic sciences 18:411-416.
Wang , J. Y., and R. R. Reeves. 2017. Neophocaena asiaeorientalis. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Downloaded on 09 September 2019.
Links to (Korean language) videos of Dr. Lee’s television appearances.
TV
Program: TV Animal Farm
Episode Title: Mass Death of 299 Porpoises: A Time to Coexist with the Narrow-ridged Finless Porpoise
Channel: SBS
Broadcast Date: 2023.03.12
Link:
Dr. Youngran Lee, a member of the IUCN SSC CSG, was interviewed on SBS, one of South Korea’s three major terrestrial television networks, during the program ‘TV Animal Farm’ in the episode titled “Mass Death of 299 Porpoises: A Time to Coexist with the Narrow-ridged Finless Porpoise,” aired on March 12, 2023. She raised awareness about the endangered NRFP and shared conservation measures, such as the use of excluder devices. ‘TV Animal Farm’ is the most famous and long-running animal-focused program in Korea, having aired since 2001.
Program: Whales and I (4 episode documentary)
Channel: SBS
Broadcast Date: 2023.11.18 / 11.25 / 12.03 / 12.10
Link:
“Whales and I,” a four-part documentary series that captures the wonder of whales and addresses the threats they face, was broadcast on SBS during November and December 2023. Dr. Youngran Lee participated as an external expert and advisor. Following the positive reception after the broadcast, the series was later adapted into a film and a book.
Program: Inviting Seat
Episode Title: Message from the Deaths of Whales
Channel: EBS
Broadcast Date: 2025.01.31
Dr. Youngran Lee was interviewed on ‘Inviting Seat’, a talk show aired by EBS, Korea’s only public educational television channel that is nationally televised. In the episode titled “Message from the Deaths of Whales,” aired on January 31, 2025, she highlighted key threats to cetaceans, such as bycatch, pollution, and climate change, and introduced Plan Ocean’s ‘Go Go Go’ project aimed at establishing a rapid response team for marine mammal strandings.
Youtube
Channel: IFULUV
Episode Title: “The ocean is also a home for humans” Dr. Youngran Lee, The Founder of marine conservation organization Plan Ocean
Release Date: 2025 04. 17
Dr. Youngran Lee was interviewed on the YouTube channel IFULUV. IFULUV is a cosmetics company that sells animal- and eco-friendly products and operates a YouTube channel that promotes a lifestyle of coexistence with animals. The channel has over 10,000 subscribers. In the interview, Dr. Lee shared the story behind the founding of Plan Ocean and introduced the organization’s work. She also discussed sustainable fisheries as an important approach to conserving the ocean and coexisting with marine animals, and emphasized the importance of education to encourage public participation.
