Government-Supported 'Busan Smart Aquaculture Cluster' Built
Annual Production Up to 500 Tons... Full-Scale Shipping in Q4 2026
With the water treatment technology of a domestic construction company, the country's first "clean domestic salmon raised on land" can now be served on dining tables.
On the 20th, GS Engineering & Construction held a completion ceremony for the country's first smart salmon farm, the 'Busan Smart Aquaculture Cluster,' and announced the start of full-scale land-based salmon farming. About 150 officials from GS Engineering & Construction CEO Heo Yunhong, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Busan Metropolitan City, and others attended the ceremony.
With the completion of this aquaculture cluster, Atlantic salmon, which had been entirely dependent on imports, can now be produced domestically. The smart aquaculture facility located at the Pukyong National University Fisheries Science Research Institute in Gijang-gun, Busan, is expected to produce up to 500 tons of salmon annually. Currently, the growth of Atlantic salmon fry, stocked in July and November, is underway. After an approximately two-year farming period, salmon shipments are scheduled to begin in earnest from the fourth quarter of 2026.
This project began in 2019 with government-led support through national and Busan city funds. GS Engineering & Construction signed a related business agreement with Busan Metropolitan City in July 2020 and established its subsidiary, Eco Aqua Farm, in the same year to participate in the project as a private investor.
The biggest feature of the Busan Smart Aquaculture Cluster is the use of an eco-friendly water treatment method employing the country's first closed-loop recirculating aquaculture system (RAS), farming salmon on land rather than at sea. RAS involves creating aquaculture facilities on land, drawing groundwater or seawater, purifying pollutants with advanced water treatment technology to raise salmon, and reprocessing discharged aquaculture water to release it cleanly back into the ocean. Up to 99% of the rearing water can be reused.
Additionally, to cultivate salmon, which live in cold and clean water, year-round domestically, maintaining a constant water temperature is crucial. GS Engineering & Construction made this possible by applying its proprietary patented technologies for recirculating filtration and freshwater aquaculture facility treatment.
CEO Heo Yunhong stated, "With this completion, we will expand the base of smart aquaculture technology and contribute to the sustainable growth of the domestic fisheries industry with expertise and competitiveness in the marine special plant sector."
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