National Institute of Fisheries Science charts AI course for fisheries and marine sectors

The National Institute of Fisheries Science held the "2026 AI Strategy Symposium on Fisheries Engineering" at Paradise Hotel in Busan on Friday, bringing together experts to discuss how AI can advance technology and field applications in the fisheries and marine sectors.

About 60 specialists from research institutions, universities and companies in the fisheries engineering field attended the symposium, sharing the latest technology trends across areas including AI applications in deep-sea fishing, supercomputing, digital twins, fisheries and marine structures, coastal purse-seine operations and fishing vessel safety.

Participants gave particular attention to physical AI, exploring its use in underwater robot facility inspections, hazard detection aboard fishing vessels and potential applications in challenging fishing environments.

Attendees agreed that continuously building reliable field data and repeatedly verifying that related technologies operate stably in actual fisheries settings are essential steps toward safer and more efficient fishing operations.

"AI is an important technology that can transform not only fisheries research but also the way people work on the ground in the fishing industry," said Kwon Soon-wook, director of the institute. "We will lead the development of technologies that connect our data and field research experience with AI to improve safety and efficiency at fisheries sites."