Gyeonggi-do Challenges Pufferfish Aquaculture... Designates Specialized Aquaculture Species

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has begun research to develop the yellow pufferfish, which is only caught in the Han River and Imjin River, as a specialized freshwater aquaculture species for the province.

The Gyeonggi Marine Fisheries Resources Research Institute announced on the 4th that it has started a pilot research project this month titled "Development of Eco-friendly Aquaculture Technology for Yellow Pufferfish."

The institute has initiated research under the theme of reducing production costs and promoting consumption of yellow pufferfish by developing technologies to improve growth, functionality, and marketability?referred to as the "three highs" enhancement technologies.

First, the cultivation period for marketable yellow pufferfish (300g) will be shortened by one year, from the current 2 years and 6 months to 1 year and 6 months. Additionally, specialized feed and water quality management technologies will be developed to enhance functional substances such as EPA and DHA, which are highly unsaturated fatty acids found in yellow pufferfish.

For improving marketability, research will be conducted on the causes of wounds around the mouth and loss of the caudal fin, along with treatment measures. Concurrently, joint research collaboration with private aquaculture farms in the province will be promoted to conduct on-site verification experiments.

The yellow pufferfish is a species belonging to the family Tetraodontidae. It grows in the sea for 2 to 3 years and migrates to rivers between April and June to spawn. It is a premium fish species caught only in spring during the spawning season, with prices reaching around 200,000 KRW per kilogram. As of 2021, the production volume of yellow pufferfish is about 9 tons, produced exclusively in Gyeonggi Province. Of this, 1 ton was produced through aquaculture. In Paju, Goyang, and Gimpo cities adjacent to the Imjin and Han Rivers, more than 5 cm juvenile yellow pufferfish are released annually to increase production, with 690,000 juveniles released this year as well.

Aquaculture technology for yellow pufferfish began in 2006 at the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. In 2015, the Chungcheongnam-do Fisheries Research Institute developed a breed called "Super Yellow Pufferfish" by crossbreeding male Takifugu niphobles and female yellow pufferfish, which was distributed to private aquaculture farms.

The problem is that the consumer price of yellow pufferfish is higher than that of eel (40,000 to 50,000 KRW per 1kg), making consumption activation difficult. Due to low profitability, most private aquaculture farms have disappeared.

For these reasons, it takes 2 to 3 years to grow juvenile yellow pufferfish weighing about 5g to a marketable size of around 300g. Moreover, the longer cultivation period often results in loss of the caudal fin and abnormal mouth shape, reducing marketability compared to wild fish. This leads to sales at prices lower than the costs incurred, making private sector revitalization difficult.

Kim Bong-hyun, director of the Gyeonggi Marine Fisheries Resources Research Institute, said, "Gyeonggi Province is the only region where wild yellow pufferfish are caught and has the geographical advantage of being close to the metropolitan consumer market. The potential for development of the yellow pufferfish aquaculture industry is very high, and we expect that this technology development will benefit both aquaculture businesses and consumers."