Chungnam Province Invests 34.8 Billion KRW to Secure Competitiveness in Aquaculture Industry

Chungnam Province will concentrate 34.8 billion KRW to secure the competitiveness of the local aquaculture industry.

According to Chungnam Province on the 7th, as of last year, 1,871 aquaculture farms were operating in the region. The seafood produced at these farms last year amounted to 54,359 tons, which is a 6.9% decrease compared to 48,428 tons in 2022.

On the other hand, domestic demand for seafood showed an increasing trend, rising from 4.147 million tons in 2013 to 4.541 million tons in 2017, and 5.397 million tons in 2022.

Contrary to the increase in seafood demand, production of seafood from Chungnam actually decreased, with the region’s seafood production accounting for 2.3% of the national total as of last year.

Considering this situation, Chungnam Province plans to promote 25 projects in four areas?seed industry, environmental management, production management, and future innovation?to establish a stable growth foundation for the local aquaculture industry this year.

First, 14.5 billion KRW will be invested in 16 projects to support eco-friendly aquaculture, seed cultivation facilities, and production at offshore and onshore aquaculture farms. The goal of these projects is to improve the management conditions of fishing households by promoting the restoration of clean fishing grounds, modernization of certified buoys and cage facilities, and development of aquaculture facility infrastructure such as fishing ground access roads.

As a new project, 9.6 billion KRW will be invested in stepped sea cucumber habitat facilities to increase the production of sea cucumbers, a representative high value-added seafood, aiming to cultivate sea cucumbers as an export-oriented high-income species within the region.

Chungnam Province will also provide 3.2 billion KRW to promote the dissemination of aquaculture technology among fishermen and the development of the inland aquaculture industry. Additionally, 2.6 billion KRW will be invested in promoting consumption and export of aquaculture seafood, implementing administration that takes responsibility from production to consumption.

Through these support policies, Chungnam Province has set a goal to increase aquaculture production to 57,077 tons this year and expand production value by 5% compared to the previous year to 141.2 billion KRW.

Jang Jin-won, Director of the Marine and Fisheries Bureau of Chungnam Province, said, “We will strive to establish an eco-friendly aquaculture foundation and improve the structure of the aquaculture industry.”

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