Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
'Produce more food with less'
Denmark is known for its sophisticated Recirculated Aquaculture System (RAS). Courtesy of AKVA Group
By Kwon Mee-yoo
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Well known in Korea for dairy, Denmark is a leading food producing country that also has one of the most sustainable and responsible food producing practices with food safety legislation that often exceeds that of other European Union (EU) members. With the global population increasing and resources dwindling due to over-farming and environmental degradation, Denmark is also now paving the way for safe, efficient, and sustainable food production, with inland aquaculture being a prime example.
"The United Nations found that although demand for fish is still rising, almost 90 percent of the world's fisheries are fully fished or overfished. Studies show that the loss of ocean biodiversity is accelerating, and that 29 percent of the seafood species we consume have already crashed. If the long-term trend continues, in 30 years there will be little or no seafood available for sustainable harvest. For Denmark and the world, the future of fish farming is on land,” Jimmy Sell, Commercial Counsellor at the Danish Embassy in Seoul, said.
"Aquaculture ― the breeding of fish, shellfish, and other organisms in water ― has taken place in Denmark for over 100 years. Originally, it was in the form of fish farming on land, which is still the dominant form of production, but today there is also breeding in open sea and in fresh water. We gradually scaled up the technology to the Recirculation Aquaculture System (RAS) facilities we operate today."
RAS technology allows fish farming on land to take place under controlled conditions to maximize sustainability while also securing productivity. It has less impact on the environment as it limits the consumption of new water as well as the discharge of water into natural water bodies. Most of the water in the tanks is recycled, with Danish technology reusing up to 90 percent of the wastewater in the system. This also makes it possible to clean off a large part of waste from fish production, which can be collected and used for biogas or fertilizer. At the same time, it also allows farmers to create optimal conditions for fish that might not be possible to farm in nature.
"Let's take the example of salmon, which is widely popular in Korea. Korea doesn't have the natural conditions for breeding salmon, so it imports most of it from overseas. The salmon you see at supermarkets was caught by someone who went out on a boat, caught the fish, went back to land, processed it in a factory, and put it on an airplane to Korea. It's a long process with a lot of carbon emission and resources going into it. With RAS, consumers would be able to get fresh salmon from Korea produced in a way that is much more environmentally sustainable," Sell explained.
Sell emphasized that Denmark sees great potential for collaborating with Korea to develop customized RAS facilities that merge Korean and Danish competencies. In part due to the growing threats to Korea's fish supply, including the global bottleneck in the supply chain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Korean municipalities are increasingly looking for alternatives to improve food security. The Danish embassy notes that the preliminary dialogues between Denmark and Korea on RAS facilities has been positive and welcoming so far.
"Denmark is looking for domestic production as well as export partners in Korea. We are interested in collaborating with Korea, a country with immense technological capabilities, to bring this technology one step further nationally as well as to the rest of the region. Once the technology is in place, Korea could become Asia's leading RAS aquaculture exporter and that would be a win-win for both our countries," he said.