Jeollanam-do in South Korea accelerates development of high-quality varieties to recover cockle resources

The Jeollanam-do Institute of Oceans and Fisheries Science is accelerating the development of high-quality, fast-growing varieties that are resistant to environmental changes for the stable production of high-income shellfish, cockle. After peaking at 23,193 tons in 1970, cockle production plummeted to 11,735 tons in 1990 and 58 tons in 2020. Jeollanam-do production in 2020 is 56 tons. This is due to the beginning of mass export of more than 90% of the cockle production in Korea to China during the boom period of cockle farming in the mid-late 1990s. In addition, the cockle fish farms collect and sell fast-growing individuals during intensive harvesting, so high-quality species are gradually decreasing, and repeated breeding is made in small individuals. Accordingly, the Jangheung branch of the Jeollanam-do Institute of Oceans and Fisheries Science has been conducting selective breeding tests by artificial seed production from 2021, taking into account the genetic diversity of ...