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Eurachacha! Busan’s Academia-Industry-Government Challenge: Advancing Research on Eel Seed Artificial Production Technology

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced today (26th) that it will sign an agreement with Pukyong National University (hereinafter “Pukyong National University”) and Nils Co., Ltd. to establish a “Global Hub for Artificial Eel Seed Production Technology” at the International Protocol Room of City Hall at 5 p.m.

The signing ceremony will be attended by Seong Heui-yeob, Vice Mayor for Future Innovation of Busan Metropolitan City, Park Won-yong, Vice President for Academic Affairs of Pukyong National University, and Park Jun-young, CEO of Nils Co., Ltd.

This agreement is part of a strategy to accelerate the commercialization of large-scale artificial eel seed production technology—an urban-type future aquaculture technology facing fierce international competition—and to foster Busan as a global center of artificial eel seed technology.

Busan is well-positioned to secure its role as a forward base for aquaculture science and technology, with the Fisheries Science Research Institute of Pukyong National University and a smart aquaculture cluster located in the city.

In addition, Busan is an ideal hub for exporting related products overseas, thanks to its fisheries food cluster and logistics system at Busan Port. The agreement is expected to stimulate the growth of related industries such as feed, aquaculture equipment, and distribution, while also creating jobs.

• ●(Market size) The global eel aquaculture market is valued at 20 trillion won (domestic 0.5 trillion won). Within this, the fisheries seed (glass eel) market amounts to 4 trillion won worldwide (domestic 0.2 trillion won), which is three times the value of the domestic aquaculture industry (about 1.2 trillion won as of 2023).

• ●(Current status of technology) The price of fisheries eel seed reaches as high as 50 million won per kilogram, making it an ultra-high-value commodity. Countries including Korea and Japan, as well as other global players, are competing intensely to develop this urban-based future aquaculture technology.

Through this agreement, Busan Metropolitan City, Pukyong National University, and Nils Co., Ltd. will cooperate in the following areas:
▲ Joint research and technological development for mass production of artificial eel seed
▲ Demonstration and dissemination of eco-friendly aquaculture technology based on Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS)
▲ Establishment and operation of artificial seed production facilities and experimental farms
▲ Exchange of research personnel and technology, and hosting of joint seminars and workshops
▲ Patent applications, technology transfer, and business cooperation for commercialization
▲ Attracting domestic and foreign investment, building export infrastructure, and establishing a global network

Based on this foundation, the City plans to promote a large-scale research and development project with the following objectives:
▲ Advancement of broodstock maturation and artificial fertilization technology to establish a system for the mass production of high-quality juvenile eels
▲ Development of optimal starter feed to minimize early juvenile mortality and reduce production costs
▲ Introduction of recirculating aquaculture systems and eco-friendly aquaculture technologies

Broodstock: parent fish; Juvenile: young fish

Meanwhile, although Korea became the second country in the world after Japan to succeed in artificial eel seed production, it has fallen behind technologically over the past decade. Furthermore, with the increasing likelihood that Far Eastern glass eels will be listed in the annex of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and thus banned from international trade, it is essential to secure mass-production technology for artificial eel seed within the next decade.

Both Japan (2010) and Korea (2016) succeeded in developing full-cycle aquaculture technology. However, Korea has faced limitations in industrializing artificial seed production due to the low survival rate of early-stage larvae. If Japan succeeds in securing economic feasibility for artificial eel seed production, its stance on the CITES listing issue is likely to change, which could accelerate the listing process.

Therefore, it is urgent to overcome technical limitations and establish industrialization technology through academia-industry-government convergence research, building upon seed production technology developed so far by the National Institute of Fisheries Science.

Seong Heui-yeob, Vice Mayor for Future Innovation of Busan Metropolitan City, stated, “This agreement is a signal flare for Busan’s leap forward as a global hub of fisheries technology. We will stabilize eel seed production technology and foster related industries into Busan’s specialized, high value-added urban aquaculture industry.”