Giant pacific octopus, Enteroctopus dofleini, is a large mollusk distributed in the East Sea of Korea. In this study, the catch status of giant pacific octopus by drift line fishery and the effect of sea temperature on fishing ground were investigated in Goseong-gun, Gangwon-do, which is the central coast of the East Sea. The average catch of giant pacific octopus in Gangwon-do was 1,570 tons over the past ten years, and it accounted for 21% in 2008 and 44% in 2021 compared to the total catch in the East Sea during the same period. Such data indicates that the catch in Gangwon-do has recently increased. In this study area, giant pacific octopus weighing 1.1-5.0 kg dominated accounting for 56% of the total individuals, and followed by those weighing 1 kg or less. However, the ratio of catch of giant pacific octopus over 5.1 kg tended to increase in 2021, which is thought to be related to the sea temperature that affected the fishing ground. The main depth of fishing ground was from 21 m to 50 m in this area and fishing grounds were widely distributed throughout the season except summer. Fishing ground was formed with the conditions of bottom sea temperature under 10℃ and was diminished by moving of giant pacific octopus to deeper depth with conditions of bottom sea temperature over 18℃.

• 서영일(국립수산과학원 연근해자원과 연구원) | Young il SEO (Researcher, Coastal Water Fisheries Resources Research Division, National Institute of Fisheries Science)
• 이수정(국립수산과학원 서해수산연구소 연구원) | Soo Jeong LEE (Researcher, West Sea Fisheries Research Institute, National Institute of Fisheries Science)
• 양재형(국립수산과학원 동해수산연구소 연구원) | Jae-Hyeong YANG (Researcher, East Sea Fisheries Research Institute, National Institute of Fisheries Science) Corresponding Author