Asia-Pacific

Jeju Island's 'Sea Women' Investigate Collapsing Corals

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By Dolphine Chen/Reece Ayers

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Record-high ocean temperatures driven by climate change are causing fatal damage to soft corals across the UNESCO-listed reefs of South Korea's Jeju Island. The island's "sea women," female freedivers traditionally employed to harvest seafood, as well as marine scientists warn that the loss of these vital underwater nurseries threatens the entire foundation of the local marine ecosystem.