Gyeongbuk Province to Establish 'Inland Aquatic Products Food Development R&D Center'

Nationwide First Local Government Initiative to Establish a Freshwater Seafood Food Development Institute

Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Government.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] The Gyeongsangbuk-do Indigenous Fish Industry Commercialization Center held the final report meeting for the "Basic Plan Study for the Establishment of the Gyeongbuk Inland Water Fisheries Food Development Research and Development Center (R&D Center)" on the 29th.

Selected in May through the 4th Policy Research Service Review Committee public contest of Gyeongsangbuk-do, it received a common service fee support of 20 million KRW and was conducted over four months from August to November.

Inland water fisheries products in the province produce about 1,300 tons annually, but the variety of items and consumer groups are limited, and consumption has shrunk to about 600 to 700 tons annually due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

The Indigenous Fish Industry Commercialization Center promoted the establishment of the first specialized food development institution for freshwater fisheries in local governments nationwide to expand consumption through new food development and to stabilize fishery management and increase income.

The necessity of establishing the R&D Center was proposed several times to the central government and the National Assembly, resulting in the inclusion of 2.5 billion KRW in national funds in next year’s central government budget.

For the first time in Korea, prototypes of inland water fishery food products such as retort-packaged grilled trout and catfish pet snacks were developed and technology was transferred to private companies.

The R&D Center will be installed within the Indigenous Fish Industry Commercialization Center in Bian-myeon, Uiseong-gun, Gyeongbuk, on a site of 2,400㎡ with a total floor area of 1,320㎡ (two buildings), and is scheduled to be completed in 2024 with two above-ground floors.

The report meeting was attended by 15 officials including the Director of Marine Fisheries Division of Gyeongbuk Province, the Director of the Fisheries Resources Research Institute, and advisory committee members.

The final operation plan reflecting the contents and opinions pointed out at the mid-term report meeting in October, including the scale of construction, main functions, food development fields, equipment establishment, and feasibility analysis, was announced.

The province expects that the establishment of this R&D Center will expand the distribution and sales network of inland water fisheries products and increase fishery income.

Moon Seongjun, Director of the Fisheries Resources Research Institute, said, “We will continuously commercialize through various food development research of inland water fisheries products, as well as train professionals and develop startup programs,” adding, “We will do our utmost to stabilize fishery management and increase income for fishers.”

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