Sustainable fishing and the different uses of tidal flats in the fishing villages on Korea’s southwestern coast －Focusing on the tidal flats that are recommended as candidate for Unesco World Heritage

In Korea, tidal flats can be found in the areas of the Han River estuary in Gyeonggi Bay, the Geum River estuary in Seocheon, the Yeongsan River estuary in the southwest offshore, and around Nakdong River. With a high tidal range and sinuosity in addition to being located at an estuary with archipelagos behind, these areas possess favorable conditions for developing tidal flats. Among these tidal flats, Sinan Tidal Flats, Seocheon Tidal Flats, Gochang Tidal Flats, Boseong-Suncheon tidal flats have been recommended to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage.Local residents work at artisanal fisheries on these tidal flats. Unlike large-scale commercial fisheries, an artisanal fishery is a small-scale fishery where fishermen incorporate traditional fishing craft with hand-held equipment to support their livelihood. Tidal flats not only serve as a major source of livelihood but have an important place in the local communities as a hub for networking and trading and for their contribution to creating a unique local culture. Village rituals such as Dangsanje, Gaetje, and Pungeoje have all originated from these tidal flat fishing practices.The aforementioned tidal flats can be differentiated between sheltered embayed tidal flats such as Yeoja Bay and Gomso Bay and exposed island tidal flats such as the Sinan Archipelago. Sheltered tidal flats are muddy whereas the exposed tidal flats can be sandy or mixed. Cockles and razor clams can be found in the muddy flats of the Boseong-Suncheon Tidal Flats that are situated at an estuary. Manila clams are cultivated on farms in the mixed flats of the Gochang Tidal Flats and Gomso Bay. In the Sinan Archipelago, whip-arm octopi are harvested in the muddy tidal flats while seaweed farms are developed along the tidal creek and channels and salt evaporation ponds on the shoreline. Moreover, a haven for shorebirds and plovers, Yubudo Island’s sandy tidal flats provide excellent habitat for Asian hard clams.The sustainability of these tidal flats is now being threatened by overfishing, overcrowding, unregulated eco-tourism, and the residents’ indifference to the value of the tidal flats. These threats must be recognized and overcome in order for the Korean tidal flats to be listed as a World Heritage and must be seriously considered when developing plans for preservation and maintenance when they become listed as a World Heritage Site. Passive approaches such as area and time restrictions and environmental improvement are deemed to be preferable to direct approaches such as resource propagation or farming, while improving the health of the habitat should be prioritized to the artificial placement of spats. Different types of fishing other than hand-gathering should be actively encouraged by promoting seafood festivals and implementing a fishing license. In addition, there is an urgent need to develop concrete measures to protect endangered marine species and to reduce microplastics. Such measures require the participation of all consumers and not simply the fishermen. Preservation and management policies should be developed in line with the Korea Important Fisheries Heritage System, and international solidarity must be achieved in conjunction with the Slow Fish campaign. Enhancing the brand value for local small-scale fisheries by focusing on their importance in the ecosystem can be an excellent way of raising the value of the tidal flats. To sustain the tidal flats’ ecosystem and the unique culture of the fishing villages that are the basis of being recommended for the UNESCO World Heritage Site listing, consumers must actively participate and perform their roles as co-producers as advocated by the Slow Fish campaign.