Shapes of fishing gears in relation to the tidal flat bio-organisms and habitat types in Daebu Island region, Gyeonggi Bay

This is a base research to analyze the evolution of fishing gear shapes in response to the types of marine benthic organisms and ‘getbatang-harvesting tidal flat’ in Daebu Island in Gyeonggi Bay. Daebu Island has variety of relatively well preserved natural coast lines and fishing gears. Hand hoes were divided into two categories, one for manila clam collecting and the other for mud octopus collecting. The ones used to catch mud octopuses are much larger and heavier. Clear distinction of shapes and forms were found even among the hand hoes used for collecting the similar types of catch, depending on the getbatang that they were used on. Also, mud octopus hand hoes varied in shapes and forms depending on the region that they were found in and the sex of the user. Fishing gears of other islands in Gyeonggi Bay, Oi Island, Jangbong Island and Ganghwa–Donggum Island, showed differences as getbatang varies, and each region sometimes had different uses of the same tool from each other. It is necessary that we continue the investigation and analysis on the relationship between the shape of fishing gears, organisms, and getbatang sediment conditions before the traditional fishing gears disappear any further.