Welcome to Goheung, South Korea.
Korea’s first sustainable RAS facility.
Juveniles production for local grow-out farmers.
Harvest-grade fish for market.
2017
Site selected. Land acquisition begins.
2018
$3.2M grant from Korean gov’t. Project planning begins.
2020
Entitlements and permitting complete. $9M raised.
2021
Construction of civil structure begins.
2023
RAS design and delivery underway. Production to begin Q4 2023.
South Korea’s first RAS facility at the very southern tip of Korea and center of Asia.
Of all the coastlines on the Korean peninsula, BluGen determined that there were only two sites suitable for the most effective & efficient RAS production. We chose a site in Goheung—where the ocean water is cleanest, with the right water temperature, advantageous geographical features, an accommodating community, and a central location.
Species Selection: Olive Flounder.
Olive flounder is a sashimi-grade flatfish native to South Korea, and is widely consumed in Korea, China, and Japan (known as hirame). It is considered a delicacy, and due to demand outpacing supply, entire annual productions are consumed locally, without being exported globally.
Due to challenges arising from overfishing, disease, and changing climate conditions, production has been decreasing over the past decade, while demand has been increasing.
The South Korean government deemed genomic/breeding and production-supporting initiatives for olive flounder a high priority for the Korean aquaculture industry.
While not produced or much-consumed in the US, University of Miami RSMAS’s study deemed olive flounder to be a commercially ready species, even for US aquaculture.
Compared to Atlantic salmon, olive flounder:
costs about the same per kg to produce.
harvestable in 10 months vs 3-4 years for salmon.
has a high farmgate price of ~$20/kg (vs ~$6/kg for salmon), subject to size of fish & market rates.
The BluGen olive flounder.
Grows 30% faster. More resistant to disease. FCR of 1.1.
No antibiotics, hormones, or chemicals. Non-GMO.
All of BluGen’s initial two years of production of both juveniles and harvest-size fish have been subscribed. If you’d like to be considered for future productions, please contact us.