A "legendary deep-sea fish" known as dotdom (Japanese wreckfish) has been caught in waters off Busan, drawing public attention.
According to the Yongho Fishing Village Association and OnDoctor TV on Tuesday, a dotdom measuring 164 centimeters in total length and weighing 77 kilograms was caught by fishing rod around 5:30 a.m. Monday in the East Sea, about three hours by boat from Yongho Bay in Busan. Often called the "legendary deep-sea fish" because folklore holds that only those chosen by the Dragon King can catch one, the dotdom is a large species that inhabits deep waters around 500 meters below the surface.
The fish was caught by Kim Kwang-hyo, 46, a fishing boat captain affiliated with the Yongho Fishing Village Association, and his crew. After the dotdom took the bait, it reportedly resisted fiercely, and Captain Kim along with two other adult men spent about 15 minutes reeling it in before successfully landing the catch. "Three adult men gripped the fishing rod and squeezed out every ounce of strength, wrestling with it for 15 minutes before we could land it," Kim said, describing the scene. The capture was filmed by the production team of "On-Site Focus," a program on the medical specialty channel OnDoctor TV, which was on board at the time, and is scheduled to air in mid-June.
The dotdom is so rare that only about 30 are caught nationwide each year, making it a premium sashimi delicacy that trades at fish markets for up to 10 million won per fish (50,000 to 60,000 won per kilogram). However, experts caution that the dotdom's liver can cause acute vitamin A poisoning, leading to symptoms such as headaches and vomiting, and should be consumed with care.
In April, five dotdom were caught in a single day on a fishing boat that had departed from Busan. As such catches continue, some have speculated whether they could be a precursor to a major earthquake in Japan. However, experts have dismissed these claims as scientifically unproven. "There is no scientific evidence that the appearance of deep-sea species is related to earthquakes," an official from the National Institute of Fisheries Science said. "It is difficult to view this as having any connection to seismic activity." Some suggest that climate change, including rising sea temperatures, may have altered the activity depth of deep-sea species or moved their spawning season earlier.
