6 MARCH 2022 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S .ORG C H A P T E R R E P O R T S Open Communication Forum for Zeroing Styrofoam Buoys The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) established a consensus on policy with experts by holding an Open Communication Forum in December 2021. The forum is a type of town hall meeting where fishermen, environmental groups, consumer groups and related academic experts gather to discuss the policy of zeroing out styrofoam buoys on fish farms. Recently, the Fishery Management Act Enforcement Rules that restricts the installation of new styrofoam buoys in fisheries, such as fish farms, was also revised and promulgated. In the forum, starting with the topic presentation on implementing the styrofoam buoy zero policy and the improvement direction of the eco-friendly buoys currently in use, fish farmers who use the eco-friendly buoys shared the problems encountered in the field. The participants discussed the limitations and development direction of eco-friendly buoys, feasibility and improvement plan of eco-friendly buoy certification standards, material evaluation of eco-friendly buoys, and limitations and alternatives to ecofriendly buoys. It broadened mutual understanding and served as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation in policy implementation. The forum in Gyeongnam and Jeonnam Provinces, where fish farmers and local governments have been more interested in reducing styrofoam buoys than anywhere else because there are many floating farms such as those for laver, oyster and sea squirt that use many buoys. The MOF officers of Aquaculture Industry Department, Marine Conservation Department, Aquaculture Department, and Fisheries Engineering Department, specialist (Korea Maritime and Fisheries Development Institute), local government officers from Gyeongnam and Jeonnam Provinces, fishers of National Fisheries Cooperative Federation and local Fisheries Cooperative, and environmental NGO groups, consumers organizations, buoy certification companies and others have participated in the forum. Patent Registration of Scutica Repellent Substance from the Aniseed Tree The National Institute of Fisheries Science (NIFS) of the MOF and the National Institute of Forestry Science (NiFoS) announced the patent registration of a scutica repellent, the first fruitful result of joint research by the NIFS and the NiFoS. The new eco-friendly repellent can exterminate the flounder parasite scutica (Miamiensis avidus: Ciliophora, Scuticociliatida). Scutica is a scuticociliate causing mortality in olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus. Flounder were treated with essential oil extracted from the leaves of the aniseed tree Illicium anisatum and the study confirmed that it has up to 10 times greater efficacy than the currently used aquatic parasite worm repellents. In addition, after artificially infecting flounder with scutica parasites, the flounder survival rate was 50 percent in the treated group, but all fish in the non-administered control group died. Electronic Prescription of Fisheries Medicine for Safety and Convenience The MOF established an “Electronic Prescription Management System for Aquatic Animal Medicines” to strengthen the safety management of medicines for aquatic animals and held a user demonstration for fisheries disease managers in December 2021. As public interest and expectations for seafood safety related to medicines (such as antibiotic resistance and veterinary drug residues) have increased, the need for a system that can systematically manage aquatic animal medicines used in aquaculture has been raised. Accordingly, the MOF completed the establishment of the electronic system to secure digital data related to the use of medicines for aquatic animals and systematically manage the quantities of medicines used. In connection with the database of fish species, aquatic animal disease and medicines owned by the MOF, prescription items were standardized. After writing a diagnosis, a fish disease manager could issue a prescription of drugs for aquatic animals. In addition, it provides a Drug Utilization Review, a service that provides drug safety information such as concomitant use and contraindications when prescribing drugs to check inappropriate use of drugs in advance. The Korea Fisheries Disease Control Society manages the drug prescription information accumulated through the system. This information will be primary data to predict aquaculture animal diseases and prepare drug management policies for safe aquatic product production. By establishing the electronic prescription system, fisheries disease managers will efficiently utilize diagnosis and treatment information. Fish farmers will receive electronic prescriptions instead of paper prescriptions, reducing the risk of personal information exposure and increasing convenience. The MOF plans to evaluate the system in March 2022 by examining users’ convenience, satisfaction and stability after pilot program operation by February 2022 and supplementing the deficiencies. The World’s First Successful Artificial Breeding of the Brackishwater Snail Galgodung The MOF announced that it had developed the world’s first artificial propagation technology for the marine-protected, brackishwater snail Clithon retropictum, known as galgodung in Korea. Galgodung is a small snail of 1-2 cm that lives in brackishwater areas. In the past, galgodung were commonly seen Korean Chapter The MOF established an “Electronic Prescription Management System for Aquatic Animal Medicines” to strengthen the safety management of medicines for aquatic animals. Fish farmers will receive electronic prescriptions instead of paper prescriptions, reducing the risk of personal information exposure and increasing convenience
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