Chungnam Confirms Feasibility of Yellow Croaker Farming... Promotes Fishermen Supply

Yellow croaker produced through experimental aquaculture at the Cheonsuman cage aquaculture farm by the Chungnam Fisheries Resources Research Institute. Provided by Chungnam Province

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province conducted a pilot farming of yellow croaker in Cheonsuman Bay and confirmed the possibility of farming in general fishing households. The results of the pilot farming will be used to promote the distribution of yellow croaker farming to local fishing households.

The Provincial Fisheries Resources Research Institute announced on the 26th that it recently carried out the "Cheonsuman Bay Yellow Croaker Farming Field Application Test" and achieved such results.

The pilot farming is being promoted to prevent damage to fishing households from natural disasters such as high and low water temperatures, which have become frequent due to climate change, and to discover new high value-added farming species and establish industrialization plans.

The yellow croaker pilot farming involved purchasing about 60,000 juveniles measuring 4-5 cm and weighing around 1.5 g from the Jeonnam region, then stocking them in a cage farm in Cheonsuman Bay on May 7. Growth was monitored monthly and by water temperature, including growth and survival rates during high water temperature periods above 28°C, as well as feed efficiency.

The Fisheries Resources Research Institute chose yellow croaker for the pilot farming because it is traditionally highly preferred by the public, resistant to high water temperatures and diseases, has a short farming period and low maintenance costs, price competitiveness, and considering other conditions such as the nationwide decrease in catch volume.

Yellow croaker, widely distributed in the West Sea of Korea and the East China Sea, is a migratory temperate species known to be resistant to high water temperatures.

In particular, the yellow croaker in the Cheonsuman pilot farming last summer showed no mortality or disease and exhibited active feeding behavior, confirming good adaptation to high water temperatures.

This contrasts with the same period at the Cheonsuman farm where 5,155,000 fish (from 8 fishing households) died due to high water temperatures, resulting in damages amounting to 900 million KRW.

Yellow croaker can be marketed after a farming period of six months, allowing farming to avoid low water temperature periods, which is also considered an advantage. The short farming period is expected to reduce management costs such as labor and operating expenses, thereby effectively increasing the income of local fishing households.

Unlike live fish such as rockfish, yellow croaker is shipped refrigerated or frozen, making storage and distribution easier and less costly. However, the average price per kilogram of yellow croaker is relatively high, ranging from 10,000 to 24,000 KRW.

An official from the province said, "As high water temperature damage has repeatedly occurred recently in Cheonsuman, the need to discover species that can respond to this has been raised. Based on the pilot farming results from the Fisheries Resources Research Institute, the province will prepare a farming technology manual suitable for Cheonsuman and distribute it to local fishing households."

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