Editorial on the research topic: case of excellent research performance of the National Institute of Fisheries Science in 2021

Abstract

The National Institute of Fisheries Science (NIFS) is the only comprehensive national research institute in the field of fisheries in Korea, which has contributed to the development of all Korean fishery industries (NIFS, 2019). Although the NIFS was officially established alongside the Korean government in 1949, it has over 100 years of research history since the beginning of modern and contemporary fisheries science in 1921 (NFRDI, 2001; Won & Kim, 2021). The NIFS is responsible for developing and disseminating technologies necessary for fisheries and supporting fishery policies through a wide range of research. For effective implementation of these responsibilities, the NIFS has established four major strategic directions: technology innovation for the future of fisheries, achievement of a sustainable fisheries industry, development of technologies for responding to fisheries issues, and strengthening of internationalization and industrialization capabilities. These directions show that the NIFS aims to improve the quality of life through ‘research and solution development,’ rather than by exclusively supplying science and technology knowledge through pure research and development. I would like to introduce achievements toward these strategic directions by the NIFS in 2021. The first achievement is related to strengthening sustainable fishery resource ecology and artificial intelligence (AI)-based marine information prediction. The behavioral characteristics of major species in the East Sea of Korea (cod, walleye pollock, and giant Pacific octopus) were investigated using advanced remote technology for the first time. Korea secured 110 tons of Antarctic toothfish through an approved scientific research survey by a regional fisheries management organization. The NIFS responds to damage from marine disasters by establishing a water temperature prediction system based on AI techniques. The second achievement by the NIFS is the development of new aquaculture breeding technologies, with the aim of producing convenience foods. The NIFS restored the endangered dragon kelp, built a foundation for industrialization, and developed and distributed training techniques for breeding giant grouper, a value-added aquaculture variety that can endure high water temperatures. The NIFS developed and commercialized red sea bream and rockfish meal kits and soft abalone retorts, which removed the fishy smell. The NIFS also developed skin cosmetics using Lactobacillus obtained from the vicinity of Dokdo island. The third achievement for NIFS is focused on environmental management to ensure safety of aquatic products and the development of aquatic accident prediction technology. In this