10 SEPTEMBER 2023 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG CHAPTER REPORTS Release of Contaminated Water from Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant On August 24, Japan began releasing polluted water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean. The South Korean government acknowledged that the discharge plan appears technically and scientifically sound; however, it neither agrees nor supports it. The government has been informed that there should be no concerns if the contaminated water is treated and released following international procedures and scientific standards. Nevertheless, many South Koreans are against releasing polluted water. In June, a Gallup Korea survey found that 78% of respondents were apprehensive about seafood contamination caused by the nuclear plant’s water discharge. Aside from the scientific safety of the treated water, the discharge of contaminated water will probably harm consumer confidence and the aquaculture industry. 2023 KOSFAS Conference & WAS KC Report The 2023 Korean Society of Fisheries and Aquatic Science (KOSFAS) Conference was held at Kumho Tongyeong Marina Resort under the theme ‘How to develop ESG-based fisheries in the era of the pandemic’ from July 5 to 7. The Gyeongsang National University, Mokpo National University, Research Center for Marine-Integrated Biomedical Technology Pukyong National University, and the KOSFAS organized the conference. A total of 474 participants attended. There were various opportunities for researchers and industry practitioners to participate and share in the twelve sessions, including ‘Technical workshop for innovation of flow-through digital aquaculture’ by the Aquaculture and Biotechnology Division. The Senior Session featured ‘Functional lipids of marine products’ by Professor Emeritus Bo-Young Jung (Gyeongsang National University), ‘A study on seaweed solutions in response to Korea’s climate crisis’ by Professor Emeritus IkKyo Chung (WAS-Korean Chapter President, Pusan National University) and ‘Current status of artificial eel production technology’ by Professor Emeritus Chang-Hee Han (Dong-Eui University). During the conference, the WAS-Korean Chapter showed chapter reports as a short presentation during Professor Emeritus Chung’s talk. The main contents of the report were the Emergency Committee (EC) of the 23-24 term approval by the WAS Board of Directors, and the appointment of Professor Han-Kyu Lim (Mokpo University) as President-Elect. The EC, chaired by Professor Emeritus Ik Kyo Chung, the Immediate Past President, will bring the number of members back to normal, prepare plans for improvement by revising the bylaws, and put the KC on the standard track. NIFS & KMI - Joint Workshop of Flounder Aquaculture Industry The National Institute of Fisheries Science (NIFS), Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, held a two-day workshop from June 8 to 9 with the Korea Marine Fisheries Development Institute (KMI) to analyze the effects of flounder research and development (R&D) on the industry and draw implications. The workshop was organized to bring together natural and social scientists from both organizations to comprehensively analyze the results of flounder R&D conducted by the institute. NIFS began research on flounder artificial seed production in 1981 and secured full-cycle aquaculture technology in 1987, laying the groundwork for the industrialization of flounder aquaculture. Since then, research and development in various fields such as culture, feed, pathology, and breeding have been promoted, contributing to establishing flounder as a representative fish farming species in Korea. So far, flounder aquaculture production has increased 2,000 times from 20 tons in 1987 to 45,884 tons as of 2022, recording the most prominent production (50.2%) among aquaculture species in Korea. However, there has been a lack of comprehensive analysis of the effects of R&D on flounder varieties. In this workshop, there were presentations and discussions from both institutions on (1) the status of flounder R&D promotion by sector, (2) sharing approaches to R&D industrial effect analysis, (3) discussing new analysis frameworks, and (4) exploring ways to model and quantify industrial effect analysis and future promotion directions. In addition, technology commercialization performance, industrialization indicators, technical guidance, education, and academic activities were compared and evaluated using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique. President Dong-Shik Woo (NIFS) said, “Based on the analyzed results, we will promote more effective and strategic flounder R&D to support the industry and apply it to R&D in other fields.” Aquaculture Disaster Insurance by 2027 - Increasing Number and Coverage The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF, Minister SeungHwan Cho) established the ‘1st Master Plan for the Development of Disaster Insurance for Aquaculture Products (2023~2027)’ on June 20, which outlines key strategies over the next five years. This is a statutory plan established under the Agricultural and Fishing Villages Disaster Insurance Law, which aims to promote disaster insurance for agricultural and fisheries products, and is the first of its kind. The plan will expand the items covered so that more fishermen can prepare for losses from natural disasters through aquaculture insurance and strengthen the guarantee of disaster insurance by introducing the “cost compensation method” for the first time, which guarantees the production costs invested until the loss occurs. In addition, it will expand premium rebates for long-term continuous policyholders and accident-free policyholders to reduce the burden of insurance and diversify the scale of premium support according to the level of collateral, farm area, and income level to stabilize the management of small-scale fishermen. NIFS and WOAH Co-Host International Workshop on Aquatic Animal Diseases in Asia-Pacific The National Institute of Fisheries Science (NIFS), Ministry of Korean Chapter
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