14 MARCH 2015 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG History and General Overview The practice of aquaculture for commercial purposes started in Korea (before separation) around 300 years ago. However, it was not until 1929 that science-based research activities were initiated by the Jinhae Inland Fisheries Research Institute, part of the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI). Since then, aquaculture has played a vital role in providing food, income and employment in the country. Considering a 9,000-km coastline and an archipelago of some 3,000 islands, Korea is a country endowed with abundant fisheries resources. Accordingly fishing has always been a national industry of major economic importance. The abundance of fisheries resources also helped Korea to have a distinct fish-eating culture. Korea formerly relied mainly on capture production; however, stagnating capture production in recent years has led the country to direct increased attention toward aquaculture. Aquaculture has expanded, intensified and rapidly diversified in the last Korean Aquaculture at a Glance Hyeonho Yun, Fasil Taddese and Sungchul C. Bai five decades. In the 1960s and 1970s, various technologies were developed to produce the seed of oysters and other species. While the 1980s were devoted to shellfish, pen and cage aquaculture for finfish was promoted in the 1990s and 2000s, and now technologically advanced integrated and sustainable aquaculture has gained momentum. Korea’s fish production totaled 3,142,000 t in 2013, a decrease of 1.3 percent from 3,183,000 t in 2012 (FAO 2014). Of the total, 1,602,000 t were from capture and 1,540,000 t from aquaculture (Table 1). Similar to other industrialized nations such as the USA, Spain, France, Italy and Japan, a slight decline in aquaculture output was observed in 2013. Despite the recent decline in capture and culture production, the demand for aquatic products has consistently increased due to a greater consumption and preference of seafood over red meat. In fact, Korea recorded a trade deficit in fishery products for the first time in 2001 to meet domestic demand for aquatic products. This was a clear indication of the need for further strengthening TABLE 1. Capture and aquaculture production (1,000 t). Species 1975 1985 1995 2005 2010 2013 Total Aquaculture 352 790 1,017 1,057 1,377 1,540 Marine 352 787 997 1,042 1,355 1,515 Freshwater - 3 20 15 22 25.1 Total Capture 1,781 2,303 2,342 1,661 1,745 1,602 Marine 1,772 2,254 2,332 1,654 1,736 1,595 Freshwater 8 48 9 6 9 7 Grand total 2,133 3,093 3,359 2,718 3,122 3,142 SOURCE: FAO (2012), KOSTAT (2014) TABLE 2. Marine aquaculture production (1,000 t). Species 1975 1985 1995 2005 2010 2013 Seaweeds 162 397 649 621 901 1,131 Mollusks 189 378 334 331 356 291 Finfish - 2 8 81 80 73 Crustaceans - - - 1 3 4 Others 1 10 4 6 15 16 TOTAL 352 787 995 1,040 1,355 1,515 SOURCE: FAO (2012), KOSTAT (2014) Aquaculture has expanded, intensified and rapidly diversified in the last five decades. Of total fish production, 49 percent is from aquaculture, mostly in the marine environment. Aquaculture has enabled the country to bridge the gap between seafood demand and supply. However, seafood imports from countries where production costs are relatively low are currently contributing to a decline in aquaculture production in Korea.
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