Coastal bluefin tuna sold direct to domestic market for first time

Busan city announced Friday that the first direct transaction under its bluefin tuna income-enhancement pilot project was completed successfully on Tuesday, a joint initiative with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Large Purse Seine Fisheries Cooperative and Dongwon Industries, a leading domestic seafood processing and retail company.

As climate change drives up bluefin tuna catches in South Korea's coastal and offshore waters, the transaction marks the first time the existing complex auction-based distribution system has been bypassed in favor of a direct domestic supply chain for local consumers. Though the volume traded was small, some say it represents the starting point of a distribution shift that will bring domestically caught bluefin tuna — previously exported cheaply to Japan and other markets due to freshness degradation — directly to Korean consumers' tables.

The project began in March, when Dongwon Industries and the Large Purse Seine Fisheries Cooperative signed an MOU under the administrative support of Busan city and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Progress was temporarily suspended after the bluefin tuna schooling season coincided with the large purse-seine fleet's voluntary fishing moratorium, which ran from April 30 to July 3. Once the moratorium ended, the fleet successfully caught bluefin tuna on Tuesday, allowing the project to move forward with a significantly shortened distribution chain.

Under the direct-transaction model, bluefin tuna caught by two large purse-seine fleets is linked directly to Dongwon Industries' ultra-low-temperature processing infrastructure, cutting the time between catch and sale by eliminating intermediate distribution steps — an approach expected to improve freshness, quality and added value.

Meanwhile, Pacific bluefin tuna is a managed species whose catch limits are allocated to member countries by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. Drawing on data showing rising bluefin tuna numbers in South Korea's coastal and offshore waters, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has been working to secure additional quota, successfully persuading member countries to raise South Korea's annual allocation from 748 metric tons in 2024 to 1,219 metric tons in 2026.