KPC3451-3454: Protected Marine Species (3rd)

The Republic of Korea has designated about eighty protected marine species—the numbers of which have dropped significantly due to costal development and environmental pollution—and have been protecting their high ecological value. Korea Posts is issuing a third version of Protected Marine Species, introducing four new species.

The stamps feature two species of seagrass (i.e. seaweed, marine angiosperms)—Zostera marina and Phyllospadix japonicus—that provide a habitat for various marine animals and plants and help establish a healthy coastal ecosystem. Zostera marina grows in sandy mud, sandy soil and mud 5 meters deep from the bottom of the intertidal zone, forms a wide-ranging colony mostly near the South Sea, and lives off the coasts of the East Sea, the West Sea and Jeju Island as well. Zostera marina is a monoecious plant that blossoms, pollinates and produces seeds from February to April. The mature seeds of Zostera marina naturally fall off the stem, germinate nearby and grow. Phyllospadix japonicus mostly lives in rocks 8 meters deep from the bottom of the intertidal zone off the coast of the East Sea, where waves are big and currents fast, and also in some islands in the South Sea as well as the West Sea. Also called Phyllospadix japonica Makino, it is a dioecious plant that blossoms from February to April and matures its fruit in July. Zostera marina, which appears across soft sediment coasts in the north hemisphere including Korea, and Phyllospadix japonicus, which lives in rocky coasts in Northeast Asia adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, play ecologically important roles in providing marine life with food to eat and places to thrive.

The stamps also feature two of the most mysterious yet much beloved marine animals species of seahorses, the number of which have dropped dramatically due to overfishing. Three-spot seahorse (Hippocampus trimaculatus) can change its body color according to its surroundings, which gave it its nickname `sea chameleon.` Three-spot seahorse (Hippocampus trimaculatus), which is easily distinguishable from other species of seahorses due to its three dots on the back, is widely distributed in tropical waters such as the Philippines and Singapore as well as temperate waters such as Japan and China, and is seldom observed off the coast of Jeju Island, Korea. Common seahorse (Hippocampus kuda) is an internationally protected species that lives in shallow coastal waters with sand or gravel. Common seahorse (Hippocampus kuda) is known for its various body colors, such as light yellow, light red and brown, and can be observed in waters around Yeosu and Jeju, while being distributed mostly in waters around Japan, China, Taiwan and the Philippines. Seahorses are known for `male pregnancy` where the female seahorse lays eggs in the male’s pouch.

Protected marine species cannot be captured and distributed for either commercial or leisure purposes, and violators are subject to punishment. We hope these newly issued stamps of protected marine species remind you of the ecological function and value of such endangered species.