South Korea's Salmon Industry Targeted... Pohang City Approves Plan to Designate Salmon Aquaculture Specialized Complex

The salmon industry development, which is expected to inject new vitality into the Pohang regional economy and bring sustainable development to the local fisheries industry, is set to be fully launched.

Pohang City announced on the 8th that the Pohang salmon aquaculture specialized complex, covering 224,160㎡ (approximately 68,000 pyeong), has been included in the ‘2025 Industrial Complex Designation Plan Notice’ by Gyeongbuk Province.

Aerial view of the Smart Farm Cluster Back-up Complex.

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The city is currently establishing a smart aquaculture cluster in the Janggi-myeon area, aiming for an annual salmon production scale of 10,000 tons. This cluster consists of a salmon aquaculture test facility (testbed) of 28,570㎡ and a rear site of 195,570㎡.

After the approval of this designation plan, the salmon aquaculture specialized complex will undergo final approval through procedures such as development and implementation plan establishment, environmental, disaster, and traffic impact assessments, and review by the Gyeongbuk Provincial Industrial Complex Planning Committee.

Once finally selected as a specialized complex, the project is expected to gain more momentum through various tax benefits and adjustments in sale prices. It is anticipated that not only the six companies including Norway’s Nils Wilkison and Mirae Aqua Farm, which are currently seeking to move in, but also other companies will increase their demand for relocation.

The Pohang Smart Salmon Aquaculture Cluster project benchmarks Norway’s salmon aquaculture technology and adopts a Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS).

Accordingly, it aims to establish an eco-friendly aquaculture model that recycles seawater, minimizing environmental pollution compared to conventional aquaculture methods, and to foster an aquaculture industry ecosystem covering all stages from salmon production to processing.

Pohang City expects that designation as a salmon aquaculture specialized complex, following battery, hydrogen, and bio-specialized complexes, will create new growth engines leading Pohang’s future and invigorate the local economy through job creation.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok emphasized, “With swift project implementation, Pohang will lead domestic salmon production and advance to become a global salmon industry hub targeting the Asian market. We will nurture salmon as a new representative seafood product following the local specialty Gwamegi, smoothly completing the ‘Korea’s No.1 Salmon City, Pohang’ brand.”

Last year, Mayor Lee visited the headquarters of Mirae Aqua Farm, a private smart salmon aquaculture business in Seoul, held a meeting with the board of directors, and requested prompt and smooth project progress for the smart aquaculture cluster, strengthening mutual cooperation.

Additionally, Nils Wilkison, a leading Norwegian salmon aquaculture company that continues technical cooperation and exchanges with Pohang City and Mirae Aqua Farm, plans to visit Pohang in April this year to review the project progress and continue collaboration with Pohang City.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok of Pohang is explaining the salmon smart aquaculture cluster project that the city is promoting at Nils Wilkson, a smart aquaculture company located in Lofvik, Norway, in May of last year. Photo by Pohang City

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The testbed construction project began in October last year, completing groundworks and currently constructing the floor foundation and tanks. The city is focusing all its efforts on ensuring smooth project progress with the goal of completion within this year.

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