“In the past, I used to feed the fish based only on that day’s water temperature, relying purely on experience and intuition. These days I check the water temperatures for tomorrow and the day after in advance and adjust the amount of feed.”

Around 9:00 a.m. on the 28th, at an offshore cage fish farm located 2 km from Samdeok Port in Sanyang-eup, Tongyeong-si, South Gyeongsang Province. When a notification sounded on his mobile phone, 37-year-old Kim Min-gyu checked the screen. After checking water temperature information around the farm delivered via KakaoTalk, he looked around the facility. The screen showed the current water temperature of 19.9 degrees Celsius along with the forecast maximum and average temperatures for the next two days. This is the information Kim receives from Tongyeong City every morning at around 9:00 a.m.

Now in his eighth year as a fisherman, Kim raises red sea bream, mackerel and rockfish on a 0.52 ha (hectare) farm. Each year he brings in about 50,000 red sea bream and more than 10,000 mackerel to grow. At first he was doubtful whether a forecasting service was necessary, since he could measure the temperature with a farm thermometer, but his view changed after going through the summer. “There was a time when the fish died in large numbers because the water temperature suddenly rose the day after feeding,” he said. “After I started checking the water temperatures for the next two days and adjusting the amount of feed, mortality fell by about 40%.”

● AI predicts water temperatures up to 14 days ahead

Kim uses the “Tongyeong City AI-based High Water Temperature Forecasting Service.” Tongyeong City completed development of the prediction model last year and since May this year has been sending forecast information to fishers via KakaoTalk. The AI forecasts water temperatures up to 14 days ahead and provides the information to fish farms. As of this month, it is helping to operate more than 200 aquaculture farms. The service was developed to reduce damage from recurring high-water-temperature events caused by climate change. Mass mortality of farmed organisms due to rising water temperatures has negatively affected not only fishers’ incomes but also seafood supply and the regional economy.

Tongyeong City visited fish farms to listen to on-site needs and utilized about 3.21 million real-world ocean condition data points accumulated over 10 years in smart farms. It combined these with data on sea currents, weather, and seabed and coastal topography to develop an AI forecasting model tailored to the Tongyeong sea area. It predicts not only surface water temperatures but also mid-layer and bottom temperatures. Yang Hwa-ja, head of Tongyeong City’s Smart City Information Team, said, “By forecasting not only high water temperatures but also low temperatures in winter and providing real-time information, this will be helpful throughout all four seasons.”

Another advantage is that fishers can receive forecast information and guidelines on how to respond to high water temperatures via KakaoTalk at their preferred times. Even while working at sea, they can check temperature changes on their phones and adjust feed volumes. This secures time to respond before mortality occurs. For fishers with limited experience, it serves as a decision-support tool. Kim said, “I cannot read the sea like the older people who have worked for a long time, so I get a lot of help.”

● Leasing farms to support young entrepreneurs, using advanced technology to produce Atlantic salmon on land

Aquaculture using artificial intelligence (AI) and information and communication technology (ICT) is also contributing to the development of young fishers. Goheung-gun in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, plans to invest KRW 190 billion by 2030 to create a “Smart Fisheries Innovation Leading District” in the reclaimed land of Goheungman in Yongdong-ri, Dodeok-myeon. It plans to build a smart aquafarm test center, intelligent rental farms, and a fisheries big data platform.

The test center will develop technologies to respond to climate change and collect aquaculture data. Trained young people will gain experience raising flatfish and sea trout at the rental farms. Goheung-gun is also pushing to establish a special purpose company to support sales and other activities for the produced seafood. The aim is to help them settle in the region by linking education, farm operation, and securing sales channels.

Smart aquaculture is also driving changes in production methods and species. At the smart aquaculture cluster in Gijang-gun, Busan, operators successfully imported eyed eggs (eggs just before hatching) of Atlantic salmon, raised them in onshore tanks, and shipped them to market. This is the first case among the six clusters nationwide where farmed seafood has been produced and shipped.

Eco Aquafarm, a subsidiary of private investor GS Engineering & Construction, has applied ICT that analyzes water quality data in real time and automatically controls rearing equipment. The core is a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS), a closed-loop filtration system that purifies and reuses up to 99% of the water used for farming. It reduces the inflow of external pollutants and discharges effluent only after purification. The company has also developed technology to monitor salmon growth with underwater cameras and determine the timing of transfers at each growth stage.

Busan Metropolitan City expects that, leveraging this technology, annual maximum production capacity could reach 500 tons. Yae Mi-kyung, head of the Fisheries Policy Division at Busan City, said, “This shipment is a starting point for substituting imported salmon and diversifying the domestic seafood supply chain.”

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