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Environmental Issues in the Yellow Sea - China and South Korea - Summary from 2004 to the 2020s By 2004, the Yellow Sea had become one of the world's most polluted seas due to rapid urbanization and population growth in China and South Korea. The influx of waste and industrial wastewater led to a severe decline in fishery resources and loss of biodiversity. Rising sea temperatures caused by the "heat island effect" impacted the ecosystem. During the 2010s, annual industrial wastewater discharges reached 400 million tons, expanding coastal pollution. Progress was made through China's expansion of marine protected areas and South Korea's strengthened industrial waste management, but the effects were limited. By the 2020s, annual fish catches had declined to 6 million tons. China's "Yangtze River Delta Environmental Protection Project" and South Korea's "Clean Ocean Plan" are now being implemented. Solutions requiring regional and international cooperation are urgently needed.