NIFS announced that it developed the "entry-level RAS model for rainbow trout (Onchorhynchus mykiss)" and distributed the model to the Korea Trout Farmer's Association for the further advancement of environment-friendly inland aquaculture industry. 

*Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS): The cutting-edge aquaculture system that reuses the contaminated water in the fish farms by physical, chemical, and biological means for recycling. It enables the year round production of cold-water fishes such as salmon which are hard to live in the summer season in Korea, as it can artificially control the rearing conditions including water temperature. 

The two types of the entry-level RAS model for rainbow trout that were distributed this time include four patent technologies* – such as an automatic technology of solid waste disposal, etc., which is the outcomes of on-site lab** operation following the MOU between NIFS and the Korea Trout Farmer's Association in 2022.

*Out of the four patent technologies,  the one case completed patent application in November, 2024 and the other three cases that completed patent registrations are going to be transferred to the Korea Trout Farmer's Association in the first half of this year.

**On-site lab was established in order to facilitate the prompt utilization of the research outcomes in the industries by focusing on the instant site application from the beginning of the research when concerted efforts for practical cooperation by aquaculture sites and research institutes. 

The annual production amount of domestic trout farmers at total 167 farms is about 3,000 tons, but most of the farms (about 95 percent) use the running water culture system while RAS farms account for a meager 5 percent. 

In order to replace the imported salmon market where over 60,000 tons of salmon are consumed annually and to prepare for climate change as well as the depletion of inland fisheries resources, RAS distribution is desperately needed. 

In this situation, NIFS has been carrying out in-depth research on the development of entry-level RAS since 2021 so as to develop the Korean model not only suitable for domestic environmental and operational conditions but also cheaper in construction cost compared to the RAS in other countries. 

To that end, NIFS developed the prototype of domestic equipment – which enables environmental controls such as automated solid waste disposal, high efficient moving bed biofiltration, and the flow velocity of culture tank – and for the first time in Korea distributed the technology to the fields required to establish the foundation of automation and smartization of aquafarms. 

The Korea Trout Farmer's Association said that it expected the inland RAS model – Korea's first standardized system – to be able to reduce the construction area by 20 percent and the area for settling tank establishment (within 30 percent of the fish farms breeding water) compared to the existing system. Above all, the inland RAS model is expected to make a great contribution to establishing the foundation for the automation of aquafarms that have suffered insufficient workforce.