Kim Su-kyung (left), a researcher at the West Sea Fisheries Research Institute, explains how herbaceous seepweed can be grown using biofloc technology, on Sept. 23 in Incheon.
A new technology allows people to raise both seafood and vegetables at their home in urban areas, even if they live far from the water.
The West Sea Fisheries Research Institute, part of the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI), has developed a new aquaculture system based on biofloc technology (BFT). On Sept. 23, the institute hosted an event to allow people to sample shrimp and catfish raised in BFT-based aquaculture facilities.
BFT systems, combined with information and communications technology (ICT), make use of biofloc microorganisms to purify and then stabilize the breeding water. The new technology will enable people to raise fish in urban buildings, a breakthrough from conventional aquaculture methods.
Armed with a remote-controlled feeding system, an automatic water quality monitoring system and an aquaponics system designed to grow plants, BFT systems can produce not only a variety of fish and crustaceans, but also various species of edible plants and vegetables.
Using what it calls the farming technology of the future, the West Sea Fisheries Research Institute has succeeded in raising shrimp, Korean bullhead (Tachysurus fulvidraco) and catfish in fresh water, while growing plants and fruit as well, including lettuce, chicory, crown daisies, basil and tomatoes. It also discovered how to purify seawater using such salt water plants as herbaceous seepweed (Suaeda maritima) and Mesembryanthemum crystallinum.
Kim Su-kyung (right), a researcher at the West Sea Fisheries Research Institute in Incheon, explains how shrimp can be raised in breeding water purified by biofloc microorganisms in a BFT facility without needing to change the water.
“Using a BFT system, you don’t need to change the water at all,” said Rah In-Cheol, head of the institute. “When the system is put in place, we can use it not only for commercial use, but also for growing personal fish and vegetables to eat,” he emphasized. “It’s also money-saving, as it doesn’t require the water to be changed.”
A researcher at the West Sea Fisheries Research Institute in Incheon lifts a net of shrimp that have been raised in a BTF facility, demonstrating to the audience how healthy the shrimp are.
“You can adjust both the feeding schedule and the lighting in a BFT system using your smartphone, too. Our ultimate goal is to make the system entirely automated,” said Kim Su-kyung, the researcher at the institute who led the development of the system. “We’ve already applied for patents on these inventions,” she added.
By Jeon Han and Sohn JiAe
Photos: Jeon Han
Korea.net Staff Writers
hanjeon@korea.kr
