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Seaweed resources of Korea

Created Apr 16 2023, 1:27 PM by Vivek Prasad
  • Aquaculture
  • Blue Economy
  • Seaweed farming
  • Environment
  • Seaweed
  • Region - East Asia and Pacific
  • Mariculture
  • Food Security

Seaweed resources of Korea

Authors: Eun Kyoung Hwang, Han Gil Choi and Jang Kyun Kim

Abstract: Korea has a long history of utilizing seaweeds, as the country has a high biodiversity of seaweeds. The
abundance and composition of seaweed species have changed over the past decades due to climate change and
anthropogenic influences. Some species showed a significant extension of their distribution range to the north while
some species declined. Some areas have even become barren ground. Korea has put extensive effort into restoring
the seaweed resources in these deforested areas. Korea is one of the most advanced countries in the World in terms of
seaweed aquaculture. However, the aquacultured species are mostly limited to three genera, Saccharina, Undaria and
Pyropia/Porphyra, which represent 96% of the entire seaweed production in the country. Korea has developed
highly advanced cultivation technologies as well as various cultivars using breeding and hybridization technologies
for these species. There has also been considerable effort in developing environmentally sustainable
aquaculture systems using seaweed cultivation (e. g. integrated multi-trophic aquaculture, nutrient bioextraction
and biofloc). This study discusses the current status and challenges of the above mentioned topics in detail. In
addition, the present study encourages South and North Korean scientists to collaborate in the study of seaweed
resources at the border of these two countries.

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