Nong-eochon Gong Jeonnam Implements 'Aquaculture Water Management Project' Using Underground Seawater

Last year, extreme weather phenomena such as coastal high water temperatures caused by heatwaves lasting until mid-September and low water temperatures in winter have drawn attention to underground seawater, which maintains consistent temperature and quality.

The Jeonnam Regional Headquarters of the Korea Rural Community Corporation (Director Jo Young-ho) announced on the 2nd that it is supporting aquaculture farms by implementing the "Aquaculture Water Management Project," which investigates potential sites for developing underground seawater use for land-based aquaculture farms.

Cheon Dong-cheol has confirmed the underground seawater reserves from the Jeonnam Regional Headquarters and is directly installing facilities such as underwater motors to utilize the underground seawater.
[Photo by Nong-eochon Gong Jeonnam]

Land-based aquaculture farms mainly use coastal seawater near the sea, but when there are large fluctuations in seawater temperature like last year, it causes significant difficulties in management.

Cheon Dong-cheol, who has been farming shrimp for eight years in Cheonjang-ri, Haeje-myeon, Muan-gun, has been using underground seawater since confirming the feasibility of development through the corporation’s underground seawater exploration and drilling survey in 2022, installing submersible motors himself.

Cheon said, “There is no way to prevent high water temperatures in open-air farms, and when the water temperature rises, decay accelerates, leading to a lot of microorganisms, so continuous water exchange is necessary to maintain the temperature. However, when using seawater, I have to follow the tide schedule, so I cannot use it whenever I need.”

He added, “The biggest advantage of underground seawater is that there is no longer a worry about mortality due to sudden temperature rises, and I can use clean water whenever I need it regardless of the weather. I hope the system will be further activated so that many farms can utilize underground seawater.”

In fact, underground seawater is groundwater containing salt distributed in coastal strata, maintaining a constant temperature of about 15 to 17℃ throughout the year.

Although it is highly useful as water for aquaculture farms, the cost burden is high for individuals to conduct resource surveys and water quality tests.

The Aquaculture Water Management Project was established to address this issue. Since 2010, the Jeonnam Regional Headquarters has surveyed 76 districts and 390 wells, securing an average of 146㎥ of underground seawater per day, and plans to complete surveys in seven districts this year with an investment of over 800 million won.

Director Jo Young-ho stated, “As difficulties faced by rural farming and fishing communities increase due to climate change, we will continue to do our best to provide ways to utilize underground seawater for the management stability and income increase of aquaculture farms, and to ensure that the corporation’s specialized technology can serve as a foundation for growth in rural areas.”

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Yuk-bong baekok@asiae.co.kr