Using Import Data to Predict the Potential of Introduction of Alert Alien Species to South Korea

Abstract

As globalization progresses, human activities, such as travel and trade, are rapidly increasing beyond national boundaries. It is increasingly recognized that places, such as ports and airports, where trade occurs play a major role as an introduction pathway for alien species. In this study, we focused on evaluating the possibility of introduction of Alert Alien Species (AAS) through trade data among countries. The natural and distribution range of AAS were analyzed along with import data by country. There were large differences between the number of AAS distributed in a country and the import weight of items related to the import of AAS from the country. Fish, which account for 76% of the import weight of AAS, 43 and 40 species of the 84 species of AAS were distributed in US and Russia, respectively. However, the import weight of items related to the import of fish designated as AAS from these countries were extremely low. This finding suggests that trade, which is the main introduction pathway, is not taken into account in the designation of AAS. For future management plans for non-introduced alien species, species with a high possibility of introduction into South Korea through trade should be prioritized using import data.

Policy recommendations for the Rana trade towards the Republic of Korea

“…The amphibian trade towards the Republic of Korea includes live animals both for the pet trade (online and shops; Koo et al, 2020) and for human consumption (shops and markets; Othman et al, 2022). Trade principally originates from the People's Republic of China (hereafter China; 97% of weight) and the USA (0.94% of weight; Jo et al, 2022). Amphibian imports and sales have increased from 0.2 ton in 2002, to 11.8 tons in 2016, followed by a sharp increase over the last 5 years to reach 37.7 tons in 2021 (Korea Customs Service; https://unipass.customs.go.kr/ets/index.do?…”