• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.520-524
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• 2023

Regalecus russellii, which spends most of its life in the deep sea, occasionally appears in coastal waters. However, the reasons for its appearance remain unclear. In Korea, R. russellii mainly appears along the eastern coastal waters, and most of them are caught in fishing gear, such as gill nets, or are stranded on the shore; nevertheless, the frequency of appearance is extremely low. Even if found, this species is often identified to be morphologically similar to Trachipterus ishikawae, and comprehensive analysis to identify the species through sample collection is limited. Consequently, information on the biological characteristics of R. russellii appearing in the coastal waters of Korea is scarce. Herein, the anatomical characteristics of R. russellii caught in a gill net off the Gangwon-do coast on March 14, 2023, were analyzed, and coastal water temperature was measured using an ocean buoy. Our results showed that the individual was male, its total length was 320 cm, body weight was 27.52 kg, body length was 26.62 cm, gonad weight was 619.45 g, and liver weight was 218.71 g. The stomach was full of euphausiids. The water temperature changed drastically at 15-30 m roughly a week before the R. russellii individual was caught, and the subsurface water temperature was lower than 10 ℃. Our findings provide baseline data to understand the ecological characteristics of R. russellii appearing along the eastern coast of the Korea.