The “Support Project for Rapid Commercialization of Marine and Fisheries AI Application Products,” promoted to accelerate on-site application of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the marine and fisheries sector and to expand the market by supporting promising companies, has officially set sail.

The Korea Institute of Marine Science & Technology Promotion (President Jeon Jae-woo, hereinafter referred to as “KIMST”), the dedicated agency for this project overseen by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (Minister Hwang Jong-woo), announced that it has selected a final total of 20 projects through a rigorous evaluation process and has commenced project implementation.

The core of this project is to break away from existing frameworks and rapidly apply advanced technologies to the marine and fisheries field, with plans to launch AI application products that reflect market demand within 1–2 years and deliver tangible results that the public can directly experience. In the call for proposals held in March, a total of 147 companies applied, recording a high competition rate of 7.35 to 1, confirming the strong interest in and potential of the marine and fisheries AI industry.

The companies finally selected after approximately two months of evaluation will, within a project period of 12–18 months, develop AI application products in various areas such as ports and logistics, maritime traffic and safety, fisheries aquaculture, and marine environment and observation. They will also carry out technology advancement and field demonstrations to promote the final commercialization of products and their entry into the market. To this end, KIMST plans to closely manage the entire project process, starting with a project briefing session to share the project implementation direction and performance management system, followed by thorough task management and identification of companies’ difficulties. In addition, it will actively support market entry and overseas expansion of outstanding products by providing timely, customized follow-up support needed by companies, including advancement of business models, technology and commercialization consulting, investment attraction (IR), development of overseas sales channels, and domestic and international publicity.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and KIMST expect that, through this project, the application of AI technology in the marine and fisheries industry will help overcome structural issues such as an aging workforce and hazardous working environments, while simultaneously driving innovation in production processes and improving port logistics services, thereby enhancing both productivity and efficiency.

Jeon Jae-woo, President of the Korea Institute of Marine Science & Technology Promotion, stated, “We will actively support innovative technology development and rapid commercialization by promising AI companies to lead AX in the marine and fisheries sector, and we will do our utmost, in close cooperation with participating companies, to ensure that competitive, high-quality products that the public can truly experience are rapidly commercialized.”

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