4 MARCH 2016 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG CHAPTER REPORTS ‘Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences’ now an open access and online journal ‘Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences’ is the official journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Aquatic Science. It is now an open access, online journal dedicated to publishing articles on basic or applied research relevant to aquaculture, aquatic life and environments, fisheries, seafood sciences and marine biotechnology. (fas.biomedcentral.com/) Busan selected as candidate to host World Fisheries University Yeon Yong-jin, head of the fisheries policy office at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, announced on February 19, 2016, that the southeastern port city of Busan has been selected as the candidate to host the World Fisheries University of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). Busan competed against Jeju Island and South Chungcheong Province to host the institution. FAO will now decide whether to establish the university at its general conference in July next year. The university would offer graduate and doctorate programs on fisheries and fish farming education to students from developing countries. (Yonhap) Advancement of the Aquaculture Industry The activation of an investment plan that includes the commercialization of aquaculture, modernization and fullscale promotion was announced by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries on February 17, 2016 at the 9th Trade Investment Promotion Council. Large-scale capital investment on tuna, salmon and several seaweed species will be permitted and environmentally friendly aquaculture and offshore aquaculture complexes will be established. The following are main topics. • Allow large-scale capital entry. Large-scale investment for the initial equipment and technology development has become a hindrance. Previously companies with total assets of 5,000 billion won, 1,000 employees and total revenues of over 1,500 billion won could not run aquaculture businesses. • Promote environmentally friendly aquaculture complexes. Support environmentally friendly aquaculture complexes with private sector participation. The environmentally friendly with eco-based IT and BT facilities like the recirculating aquaculture systems, biofloc, HACCP, etc. should be applied. • Construct an offshore farm investment park. Offshore farms have been considered as an alternate method of overcoming space limitation. However, high initial capital investment cost and proper site selection are problems to overcome to facilitate offshore farms. The limit of farm scale increased from 20 to 60 ha and the procedure to get the license will be easier. Support and assistance with selection of the suitable offshore fish species, seed and transport technology and construction materials and operational technologies will be enhanced. Prospects of Busan Maritime Affairs and Fisheries “Prospects of Busan Maritime Affairs and Fisheries” was held on February 4, 2016 at the Busan Metropolitan City International Conference Hall. Topics of the Maritime Prospects and Policy Issues and Markets and Trades of 2016 were discussed; ‘prospects and development direction of Busan marine tourism,’ ‘trends and prospects of marine new growth industry,’ ‘prospects and strategy of the Busan Port Authority against the world maritime and port’ and ‘current issues and policy of Busan fisheries industry.’ Korea helps shrimp farming in the Sahara Desert Workers recently completed a shrimp farm in Algeria, built with South Korea’s assistance. The South Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute provided capital and technology for the farm set up in the Sahara Desert. The facility is the size of 12 football stadiums put together and can produce up to 100 tons of shrimp annually. The professor of tenacity found 2,419 species of plankton during his career Professor Hur Sung Bum has led Korea to become one of the top five nations holding collections of microalgae species. The tenacious scientist discovered 2,419 species of plankton while traveling all around the country for about 30 years. Prof. Hur is retiring from from Pukyong National University (Department of Marine Bio Materials & Aquaculture). Majoring in farming ecology, he started his post at Pukyong National University in 1982. The motivation for his research was attributed to his major, which made him find and grow certain kinds of microalgae that are used as feed for fish. Microalgae have taken center stage these days because they are being used for various research areas such as the development of biofuel as well as new biomedicines and human health supplements. For these kinds of research and development, researchers from universities, corporations and hospitals are using the microalgae of the Korea Marine Microalgae Culture Center, which is directed by Prof. Hur. Separating microalgae species is complicated because of their small size, many are only two or three microns. Microalgae are separated using a micropipette and bacteria are eliminated from the sample with antibiotics. The species is transferred to new culture medium for growth. It takes six months on average to develop a pure culture of one species. The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning has appreciated his future oriented research and development, where much time and passion are required, and has designated his laboratory as a national research resources bank and supported his work since 1995. Korean Chapter (CONTINUED ON PAGE 5)
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