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Kelps in Korea: from population structure to aquaculture to potential carbon sequestration

Created May 08 2024, 7:31 AM by Juyoung Yang
  • Seaweed
  • Korea
  • Aquaculture
  • Blue Economy
  • Environment

Korea is one of the most advanced countries in kelp aquaculture. The brown algae, Undaria pinnatifida and Saccharina japonica are major aquaculture species and have been principally utilized for human food and abalone feed in Korea. This review discusses the diversity, population structure and genomics of kelps. In addition, we have introduced new cultivar development efforts considering climate change, and potential carbon sequestration of kelp aquaculture in Korea. U. pinnatifida showed high diversity within the natural populations but reduced genetic diversity in cultivars. However, very few studies of S. japonica have been conducted in terms of population structure. Since studies on cultivar development began in early 2000s, five U. pinnatifida and one S. japonica varieties have been registered to the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). To meet the demands for seaweed biomass in various industries, more cultivars should be developed with specific traits to meet application demands. Additionally, cultivation technologies should be diversified, such as integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) and offshore aquaculture, to achieve environmental and economic sustainability. These kelps are anticipated to be important sources of blue carbon in Korea.

 

Please visit the website to read the full article:

Eun Kyoung Hwang, Ga Hun Boo, Louis Graf, Charles Yarish, Hwan Su Yoon, Jang Kyun Kim, 2022, Kelps in Korea: from population structure to aquaculture to potential carbon sequestration, available at: https://e-algae.org/journal/view.php?doi=10.4490/algae.2022.37.3.3

 

 

***Learn more about Korea & Seaweed

Jang K. Kim Incheon National University (2022), “Seaweed Aquaculture in Korea: From Historic Trends to Current Innovation”

https://arpa-e.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-11/Jang%20Kim_INU%2C%20Korea_ARPA-E%20Ocean%20Week%202022.pdf