Gyeonggi Marine Fisheries Resources Institute Achieves Mass Production of Gamurak Seeds

Juvenile Gamurak Production Tank

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] The Gyeonggi-do Marine Fisheries Resources Research Institute has succeeded for the first time in Korea in mass-producing seeds of the clam species 'Gamurak' and released 500,000 of them into the mudflats of Oido, Siheung City on the 24th.

Gamurak, also known as 'Mosijogae' (short-neck clam), is a clam species that has a savory and deep flavor and is high in taurine content, making it widely used in soups and stews along with Manila clams.

It is mainly known to inhabit the west coast, but its production has sharply declined due to environmental changes and reclamation projects.

The Marine Fisheries Resources Research Institute started research in 2020, secured the technology for producing Gamurak seeds last year, and this year succeeded in high-density mass production of 500,000 juvenile Gamurak (size 3 mm).

The juvenile Gamurak produced this time were artificially hatched at the institute in August this year and raised for about 80 days in an area of 20㎡.

Kim Bong-hyun, director of the Marine Fisheries Resources Research Institute, said, "Gamurak is one of the clam species for which artificial seed production is difficult, so it has relied on natural occurrence until now. With this technological development, the number of Gamurak living in Gyeonggi mudflats is expected to increase significantly, positively impacting the income of Gyeonggi fishermen and resource conservation."

Since succeeding in developing mass production technology for juvenile Manila clams in 2019, the institute has been releasing them annually, and in October this year, it also released 50,000 Dongjuk clams, which were successfully produced for the first time.

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