Flounder and Flatfish Now Also Raised in 'Smart Farms'

Busan City Launches Smart Aquaculture Cluster Project … Cluster Development ⇒ Private Support Complex ⇒ Advanced Fisheries Complex Industrial Zone

Aerial view of the Smart Farm Cluster.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The "Smart Aquaculture Cluster Development Project," which integrates "smart technology" into marine organism farms such as flounder and flatfish, is set to be actively promoted.

Busan City announced on the 10th that it will begin foundation construction by the end of the year once the detailed design of the cluster is completed this year, aiming to lead innovative growth in the aquaculture industry through the convergence of marine and new industries.

The Smart Aquaculture Cluster utilizes Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and Big Data to create an automated and intelligent smart aquaculture testbed and develop the surrounding infrastructure. Busan City was finally selected for this project in January last year through a public contest by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

Traditional aquaculture methods relied on individual experience and involved excessive input of seeds, feed, and facilities, which deteriorated water quality and made the farms vulnerable to diseases, resulting in high mortality rates of shellfish and fish. Naturally, this caused a vicious cycle of rising production costs.

To eliminate these problems, advanced aquaculture countries have been promoting cutting-edge technologies that automatically control water temperature, water quality, and feed supply to improve production efficiency.

Busan City selected participants for the project in May last year to successfully establish a pilot model of the Smart Aquaculture Cluster. These include two private corporations, Seonmang Fisheries Cooperative and Jeoinmang Fisheries Cooperative; two food companies, Goraesa and Gijang Mulsan; Heechang Mulsan, a comprehensive seafood trading company; and Hwanam Fisheries, an aquaculture company. Recently, large corporations have also joined, injecting vitality into the project.

Recently, the local fisheries industry has been deteriorating due to aging, depletion of fishery resources, and prolonged breakdown of the Korea-Japan Fisheries Agreement. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified management difficulties due to weakened consumer sentiment and price declines, making it necessary to devise measures to restore Busan as a fisheries city.

Busan City plans to invest a total of 40 billion KRW, including 22 billion KRW in national funds, to establish the first phase of the Smart Aquaculture Cluster. Through the testbed, it will operate programs not only for profitability but also for data collection, research and development, workforce training, and dissemination of leading models.

In the second phase, the project will gradually expand by supporting private companies to settle in the surrounding areas. The final third phase, targeted for completion by 2025, is the creation of a large-scale advanced fisheries complex industrial park integrating production, distribution, processing, export, and tourism.

Byun Sung-wan, Acting Mayor of Busan, said, "The competition for smartification in the aquaculture sector, aligned with the development of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, is a global trend. The role of the Smart Aquaculture Cluster will be very important in responding to economic and social structural changes in the post-COVID-19 era and transforming the industry's constitution through ICT convergence and eco-friendliness."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.