Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on Feb. 9 hosted a ceremony for the launch of a group of supporters for Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins off the coast of Jeju Island at Haenyeo Museum in the town of Gujwa-eup in Jeju City. (Jeju Special Self-Governing Province)

By Jeon Misun

Residents of Jeju Island have rolled up their sleeves to designate the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin around their island as a "eco legal person" with the same legal status as humans in a move to protect the endangered animal.

Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on Feb. 9 held a ceremony to launch a group of supporters for the dolphin at Haenyeo Museum in the town of Gujwa-eup in Jeju City.

The supporters seek to promote the value of protecting the dolphin in Jeju and back the designation of the country's first eco legal person. They will also urge harmonious coexistence between people and nature through ocean cleanups, plastic reduction campaigns and the spread of ethical ecotourism.

Selected through open recruitment last year, the 117 supporters were joined by another 30 members at the ceremony. They plan to spread the value of protecting the dolphin and nature worldwide through activities like creating social media content and conducting plogging, or the practice of picking up trash while jogging.

The dolphin is classified as a Class 1 endangered species and listed as an important protected breed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List. An estimated 120 of the aquatic mammals live along the Jeju coast.

The eco legal person system protects natural objects with high ecological value by granting them legal status.

"The endangered Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, which has lived harmoniously with the haenyeo (female sea divers) in Jeju waters, is an important species that requires protection," Jeju Gov. Oh Young-hoon said. "With supporters, the Jeju government will do its best to pass a revision to the Special Act on the Establishment of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and the Development of the Free International City to designate Korea's first eco-legal person."

msjeon22@korea.kr