Fish farms in Taean and Boryeong have released 840-thousand juvenile rockfish into the open sea to prevent mass die-offs as water temperatures in Cheonsu Bay near lethal levels for the species.

Ten farms in Taean released 680-thousand-700 fish, while two farms in Boryeong released 158-thousand-800, all confirmed to be disease-free.

The release was carried out preemptively before water temperatures reached 28 degrees Celsius, the survival threshold for rockfish, to avert large-scale losses.

The government has pledged to provide each farm with up to 50 million won, or nearly 36-thousand U.S. dollars, to restock, while local authorities plan to impose fishing bans to protect the released fish.

Officials are also preparing a second round of releases as high water temperature advisories have risen in recent years.

Last year, elevated water temperatures in South Chungcheong Province killed eight-point-24 million farmed fish and shellfish, including rockfish and abalone, causing record losses of nearly 10 billion won.