Pohang City Discusses Cooperation on Salmon Smart Farming Cluster with World’s Third Largest Salmon Producer Lerøy

Exploring Collaboration on Land-Based Salmon Farming with Global Seafood Group
Inspection of Facilities and Plans at Janggi-myeon Smart Aquaculture Cluster

On April 27, Pohang City held a working-level meeting in the city hall's medium conference room with representatives from Norway's Lerøy Seafood Group, the world's third-largest salmon producer, and Mirae Aquafarm to discuss cooperation on the "Pohang Salmon Smart Farming Cluster Project." The participants also visited the project site.

This working-level meeting was arranged to review the potential of land-based salmon farming in the Korean market and to explore possible avenues for collaboration with the smart aquaculture cluster currently being promoted in Pohang.

On the 27th, Pohang City held a working-level meeting with representatives from Leroy Seafood Group, the world's third-largest salmon producer based in Norway, and Mirae Aquafarm to discuss cooperation on the "Pohang Salmon Smart Aquaculture Cluster Project." Provided by Pohang City

The meeting was attended by Kim Jeongpyo, Director-General of Oceans and Fisheries of Pohang City; Choi Chang-An, Senior Commercial Officer at the Embassy of Norway in Korea; Petter Sørli, Head of the Korea Task Force at Lerøy Seafood Group; Bjørn Hovrud, Technical Director of the Task Force; Jeong Mingoo, Korea Country Manager; Jo Suhyeong, CEO of Mirae Aquafarm; and more than 10 other participants.

Lerøy Seafood Group is a global salmon producer with more than 6,000 employees worldwide. As of 2024, it is Norway's largest seafood export company, recording approximately 3.9 trillion won in sales and over 400 billion won in operating profit.

The company exports a significant volume to Asian markets, including Korea, and is considering establishing local production bases in key consumer markets to reduce costs and environmental burdens associated with long-distance air transportation.

During the morning meeting, Pohang City shared the current status of the smart aquaculture cluster, and Lerøy Seafood Group and Mirae Aquafarm presented their business plans. Discussions were held about the potential for domestic land-based salmon farming and possible directions for future collaboration.

In the afternoon, the participants visited the Pohang Smart Aquaculture Cluster site currently under development in Janggi-myeon, Nam-gu, to inspect the facility layout and review future expansion plans.

Pohang City plans to use this meeting as an opportunity to strengthen its foundation for cooperation with global companies and foster the smart aquaculture industry as a future growth engine.

A representative from Lerøy Seafood Group stated, "We are considering Pohang as a suitable location for the localization of future salmon production, and we will continue our efforts to maintain ongoing collaboration."

Kim Jeongpyo, Director-General of Oceans and Fisheries of Pohang City, said, "The Pohang Salmon Smart Farming Cluster has great potential to become a large-scale commercial aquaculture hub with participation from global seafood companies. We will do our utmost to provide administrative support and establish infrastructure to ensure continued interest and cooperation from world-renowned salmon companies."

Meanwhile, Mirae Aquafarm Inc. is participating as a private operator in the 40 billion won "Pohang Smart Aquaculture Cluster Project," which is currently constructing an eco-friendly, large-scale salmon farming industrial complex in Geumgok-ri, Janggi-myeon, Pohang.

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