NIFS said it hosted a kick-off meeting on October 17(Thurs.) to provide measures for the reduction of damages to sea squirt cultured under high water temperature(HWT) with the launch of a task force(TF) team for stabilization of sea squirt culture. 

The scale of damages in aquaculture industry is expected to hit a new record as the HWT warning lasted 71 days, the longest period in history. 

Particularly, sea squirt cultured around the southern coast of Korea is not only very susceptible to HWT but also sensitive to environmental change. For this reason, the damages caused by HWT is extremely serious. 

In this situation, NIFS set up the TF team, comprised of internal experts - in the sector of aquaculture, breeding, aquatic disease, marine environment, etc. - and external advisory pannel from academic sectors, industry, and local governments. 

The kick-off meeting was proceeded with two parts, staring with subject presentations: 1. The current state of sea squirt culture and technology development; 2. Pending culture issue & research on sea squirt culture, ecology, and disease, which was followed by a roundtable discussion between stakeholders including sea squirt farmers, personnel from local governments in Gyeongnam and Gyeongbuk, and the sea squirt hanging fisheries cooperatives. 

The requests raised in the discussion include the following: Development of superior seed with HWT resistance, fast growth, disease endurance, etc.; Countermeasures for addressing the disease; and Research for the development of new farms. 

Collecting all the opinions discussed in the kick-off meeting, NIFS will set the direction of research for stabilization of sea squirt culture, and share the progress with culture sites through regular TF activities.