8 SEPTEMBER • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG CHAPTER REPORTS Korean Chapter Commemorative Ceremony for the “2025 Korea-China Joint Juvenile Fish Release Day” for a Resource-Rich Yellow Sea The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) attended the commemorative ceremony for the “2025 Korea-China Joint Juvenile Fish Release Day,” held on Tuesday, July 29, in Yantai, China. The KoreaChina joint juvenile fish release program was agreed upon at the Korea-China Joint Fisheries Committee to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the cultivation and protection of fishery resources in the Yellow Sea. It marked the sixth such event, with previous ceremonies held alternately between the two countries five times since the first one in 2018. This year’s ceremony was attended by Director General Hong Rae-Hyung of the Fisheries Policy Bureau from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, representing Korea, and Director Xiao Fang of the Bureau of Fisheries Administration from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, representing China. The two countries selected species of migratory fish inhabiting the Yellow Sea based on public preference and economic value, and each released them in their respective waters. This year, Korea released approximately 3.03 million fries of yellow croaker, red seabream, and blue crab, while China released about 3.56 million fry of blue crab, black scraper, and black seabream. As part of the ceremony in China, a portion of the blue crab and black scraper fry were jointly released. Furthermore, the two countries designated the blue crab as the target species for evaluating the effectiveness of the joint fry release the previous year and exchanged genetic information on the released fry. The two nations plan to use this genetic information to scientifically analyze the effectiveness of the release by verifying whether blue crabs caught in the West Sea are from the released stock or from natural populations. Minister Jeon Jae-Soo stated, “Through the Korea-China joint juvenile fish release program, we will further strengthen fisheries cooperation between our two countries to cultivate and manage fishery resources in the Yellow Sea scientifically. In addition to this initiative, we will also continue working closely with the Chinese government to manage illegal fishing and promote sustainable fisheries.” ‘Gim (Laver) Business Cluster Analysis’ Wins Grand Prize at Marine and Fisheries Business & Public Service Contest The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (Minister Jeon Jae-Soo) announced the selection of 10 winning entries from the 2025 Marine and Fisheries Business & Public Service Contest on August 7. This contest was open to the public nationwide from April 18 to June 20, inviting participants to discover innovative marine and fisheries business models using publicly available data. Since 2014, the Ministry has hosted this annual competition to identify creative ideas based on data, innovate administrative services, and discover businesses that utilize public data. Now in its 12th year, the contest received a total of 175 submissions across three categories: idea planning, products and services, and big data analysis. Through document and presentation reviews, 10 winners were selected: one grand prize, two top excellence prizes, and seven excellence awards. The Grand Prize (Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Award) was awarded to the ‘Kim Mi Kim’ team for their ‘Gim (Laver) Business Cluster Analysis.’ The project was highly praised for its quantitative analysis of the water temperature risks of laver farms due to climate change and for providing a scientific basis for creating customized policies through regional clustering. The winning team received 5 million KRW for the Grand Prize. Mr. Kwon Soon-Uk, Director General for Policy Planning at the MOF, stated, “To meet the demands of the AI-driven digital transformation era, we will continue to discover high-quality marine and fisheries data that meets the needs of the public and businesses, and provide steadfast support for creative ideas so they can lead to actual commercialization.” Korea Achieves Abalone Aquatic Infectious Disease-Free Status For the first time, Korea has achieved disease-free status from the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) for seven aquatic animal diseases across three sectors: crustaceans, mollusks, and fish. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF, Minister Kang Do-Hyung) announced that Korea has been officially recognized by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) as a diseasefree country for “Xenohaliotis californiensis infection, a significant infectious disease affecting abalone. This status was granted on June 16, 2025. Xenohaliotis californiensis infection, which has been reported in 11 countries, including the United States, Japan, and China, causes massive mortality in abalone populations and is designated by WOAH as an epidemic requiring national-level control. Disease-free status is an official WOAH designation for a country that is considered safe from a specific infectious disease because the disease has not been detected there. Information about this status is published on the WOAH website (www.woah.org). WOAH conducted a comprehensive review over nearly 10 years (2015-2024), surveying 7,333 domestic abalone farms across South Korea. Based on the history of no detected outbreaks of Xenohaliotis californiensis For the first time, Korea has achieved disease-free status from the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) for seven aquatic animal diseases across three sectors: crustaceans, mollusks, and fish.
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