The Incheon Metropolitan City Fisheries Technology Support Center’s ‘purplish Washington clam pilot farming’ project has been selected as a new task under the National Institute of Fisheries Science’s 2027 Research and Instruction Fishery Program. As climate change increasingly causes die-offs of existing shellfish such as Manila clams, the search for alternative farming species that can open a new income source for fishers is now getting under way in earnest.
 [코리안투데이] A view of an aquaculture ground in a coastal fishing village of Incheon © 장형임 기자 |
The Fisheries Technology Support Center of Incheon Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Chan-dae) announced that its ‘purplish Washington clam pilot farming’ project has been selected as a new task under the 2027 Research and Instruction Fishery Program organized by the National Institute of Fisheries Science, and that it will pursue pilot farming and technology development to find a new income source for fishers.
The project was finalized following a review by the National Institute of Fisheries Science’s selection committee for the Research and Instruction Fishery Program held on September 10. Among a total of eight new proposals submitted by six local governments nationwide, Incheon’s ‘purplish Washington clam pilot farming’ project was chosen as one of the new tasks.
Accordingly, Incheon plans to invest about 68 million won over the two years from January 2027 to December 2028 to carry out pilot farming and technology development of the purplish Washington clam at aquaculture grounds in fishing villages.
The project is set against the reality faced by fishing communities under changing fishing-ground conditions. Shellfish farming in Incheon has centered on Manila clams, but recent changes in the fishing-ground environment driven by climate change and rising coastal water temperatures have led to frequent die-offs of major shellfish such as Manila clams and surf clams, prompting calls to find new farming species and income sources.
In particular, while production of Washington clams is declining, imports and consumption of the purplish Washington clam are rising. Taking note of this supply-and-demand trend, the Fisheries Technology Support Center selected the purplish Washington clam as a high-value farming species that could replace the Manila clam. The purplish Washington clam is drawing attention as a new farming species thanks to its strong adaptability to the environment and high marketability.
If the pilot farming succeeds, it is expected to help substitute imports while diversifying existing farming species, thereby securing a new income source for fishing village cooperatives and fishers. By reducing dependence on a single species and enhancing the stability of fishing-household income, the project could carry considerable significance for the fishing-village economy as a whole.
Kim Ik-jung, director general of Incheon’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Bureau, said, ‘This Research and Instruction Fishery Program is an important first step in confirming whether the purplish Washington clam can be developed into a new farming species for the Incheon region,’ adding, ‘Through systematic pilot farming and field-centered dissemination of technology, we will do our utmost to diversify farming species and ensure that this leads to a real increase in fishers’ income.’
지역 홍보대사 신청 기자양성과정 신청 코리안투데이 지부장 신청 코리안투데이 인천강화
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