For South Korea's youngest 'sea women', warming seas mean smaller catches

Jin So-hee, 28, a haenyeo, also known as a "sea woman", dives into the water to harvest sea cucumbers in the sea off Geoje, South Korea, March 30, 2021. The disappearance of the seaweed, which the haenyeo harvest as food and which also provides habitat for other creatures they hunt, has forced the women to routinely dive to increasing depths, at least 12 metres, Jin said. "There is less for us to collect and we have to dive deeper, which is physically challenging," Jin said. Besides climate change, the women say they also have to deal with more pollution in the seas, complicating their already dangerous jobs. "I'm finding more golf balls than sea cucumbers now," Jin said. Jin So-hee/Handout via REUTERS

GEOJE, South Korea (Reuters) - Clad in a black wet suit and pink face mask, Jin So-hee's figure cleanly parts the green-blue water until she abruptly dives below the surface, her purple fins disappearing into the deep.

When she resurfaces a minute and a half later, her gloved hands grip six or seven sea cucumbers, their spiked backs glistening in the sun.