Incheon National University (President Park Jong-tae) announced on the 28th that it held an international symposium on seaweed land aquaculture in collaboration with CJ Cheil Jedang Food Research Institute. 

The international symposium, held at CJ Blossom Park, was followed by presentations by marine experts at home and abroad, including Professor Charles Yarish of Connecticut University, Dr. Scott Lindell of Woods Hole Marine Research Institute, Dr. Algarink Helena Avre of Portugal and Professor Choi Han-gil of Wonkwang University, followed by heated discussions on the development of the domestic seaweed land aquaculture industry and international cooperation measures. 

Professor Yarish, the top authority in the field of seaweed farming in the U.S., explained the history, current status, and vision of the U.S. seaweed land aquaculture industry and emphasized the importance of joint cooperation with South Korea, an advanced country. Dr. Lindell announced the results of molecular breeding research for the development of seaweed farmed varieties in the U.S., citing the urgency of developing new varieties to cope with climate change. Dr. Havre, who is also co-founder of Algarplus, Europe's largest seaweed land aquaculture company, and chairman of the World Seaweed Association, the world's largest seaweed industry, explained the possibility of increasing productivity using land aquaculture technology in Europe and expanding the seaweed market, talking about the importance of establishing cooperative relationships with Korean researchers and companies. Professor Choi Han-gil pointed out the situation in Korea, where there is almost no land aquaculture for seaweed despite being an advanced aquaculture country, and predicted that the limitations of sea aquaculture could be overcome through the application of land aquaculture of high value-added seaweed species such as laver.

In the discussion session that followed, participants pointed out the problem of decreasing seaweed productivity in major aquaculture countries such as Korea due to rising sea temperatures, although the seaweed market, including seaweed snacks, is growing rapidly internationally. To overcome this, the importance of terrestrial farming, which can be produced year-round and can achieve standardization of product quality, was emphasized. In particular, overseas participants shared their experiences in seaweed terrestrial farming over the past 20 years and shared their opinions on international joint research measures, such as the development of large-scale smart aquaculture technology and high-temperature resistant varieties.

Incheon National University is a national university based in the maritime city of Incheon and is carrying out a number of blue carbon-related national projects such as BK21 and university-focused research institutes, and is conducting joint research on seaweed land and sea farming with industry-academic researchers in the United States and Europe. Through this international symposium, Incheon National University plans to further strengthen cooperation with seaweed companies as well as domestic and foreign researchers from the United States and Europe, and continue to discover and promote seaweed farming tasks.