6 SEP TEMBER 2022 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S .ORG C H A P T E R R E P O R T S NIFS Seeks a Way for Systematic International Cooperation The National Institute of Fisheries Science (NIFS, President Dong-SikWoo) held the first meeting of the Advisory Group on the International Development Cooperation System in July. They are seeking ways to support fisheries science and technology systematically and efficiently to the international community. Recently, Korea has continuously increased the demand for Official Development Assistance (ODA) in the fishery sector from developing countries (Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Colombia). Accordingly, NIFS formed an advisory group composed of international cooperation experts to prepare a systematic global cooperation process and strategy for supporting developing countries in the same way as other fields. The advisory group comprises 23 internal and external experts — 11 exterior, 12 interior: one from outside the industry, four from academia, four from research institutes, two from government, six from support projects for developing countries, and six in charge. They plan to build a more complete and feasible plan. NIFS has been supporting developing countries such as Algeria, Myanmar, and Pakistan with excellent aquaculture science and technology. Representative examples include the success of the Algerian desert shrimp farming project in 2011-2016, the establishment of a master plan for inland aquaculture in Myanmar (2014-2018), and the aquaculture project (2021) and technical support for the aquaculture and fishery industry in Pakistan (2020-2021). This year, the establishment of an aquaculture production base in Vietnam (2022-2026) and the Tunisia International Cooperation Project (2022-2023) are being promoted. Many countries in Asia, Africa and South America are requesting support for aquaculture technologies fromNIFS, but they do not have the budget, organization and human resources to efficiently support them due to a lack of funds, so the technology transfer has been piecemeal. KIMST Discusses Marine Plastic Waste Response and Recycling The Korea Institute of Marine Science & Technology Promotion (KIMST, President Yun-Yeol Oh) held an innovation forum on the decomposition and recycling of marine plastics in terms of response and utilization of marine plastic waste in August. In this forum, experts introduced the value of marine plastics: 1) regenerated Green Oil (RGO) technology, 2) regenerated nylon production through recycling of waste fishing nets, and 3) carbon reduced concrete anchor using waste nets and oyster shells. This forum included presentations regarding the response to and utilization of marine plastic waste, which can be a potential risk to marine life and humans and discussed ways to decompose and recycle marine plastics. One outcome of the forumwas an R&D plan to prevent marine debris management policies and expand them from collection to recycling. First Steps Towards Commercial Production of Atlantic Salmon The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) and Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Heong-Joon Park) held a groundbreaking ceremony for a Smart Aquaculture Cluster Test Bed in July at the Pukyong National University Fisheries Science Research Center, located in Gijang-gun, Busan. The Smart Aquaculture Cluster Project dramatically increases the productivity of the aquaculture industry by converting the aquaculture industry into a digital enterprise by combining data, network and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. It is being promoted as a core task of the new government. Starting with Busan in 2019, the MOF has selected five regions, including Goseong (Gyeongsangnam-do), Shinan (Jeollanam-do), Gangneung/Yangyang (Gangwon-do), and Pohang (Gyeongsangbuk-do). The Busan Smart Aquaculture Cluster will have a test bed that can demonstrate Atlantic salmon farming technology in a tank that can accommodate about 500 t of Atlantic salmon. Sensors and communication devices are attached. It is also planning to build a device to store the collected data and an intelligent platform to utilize it. In addition, the R&D center will carry out high-density production, salmon-only feed development, and professional human resources training projects and house a research company support room so that research institutions can focus on technology development. The testbed is expected to be completed within the following year. If salmon farming technology is developed through the test bed, it will be possible to replace salmon, mainly imported, with domestic production. With this test bed construction, Korea has taken the first step in commercial production of Atlantic salmon. The project will be the beginning of reorganizing labor-intensive aquaculture into a technology- and capital-intensive knowledge industry and an opportunity for technological innovation that will change the paradigm of Korea’s aquaculture industry. Fish Farming Area Environmental Improvement The MOF announced some new amendments to the Enforcement Decree of the Fisheries Management Act. In the Fishing Grounds Management Act, aquaculture farmers who use an area must collect accumulated sediment or waste discarded in the farming areas once every three years to preserve and improve the benthic environment. However, there were difficulties in practical implementation because the amount of sediment accumulation and waste inflow differed for each type of farming. Accordingly, the MOF revised the Enforcement Decree of the Fishery Management Act based on survey results on the characteristics of sediment layers and sediments in significant fish farming areas nationwide for five years from 2016. It increased the cleaning cycle from three to five years. In the case of cage-type fish farms, the regulation remains the same, the fish farming grounds are to be cleaned once every three years. FIRA Expanded Seaweed Spore Broadcasting in Response to CalcificationWhitening The Korea Fisheries Resources Agency (FIRA, President Chun Woo Lee) implemented seaweed spore broadcasting techniques in response to calcification whitening. The FIRA South Sea Branch Korean Chapter
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