GS Engineering & Construction raises Atlantic salmon on land, holds 'clean K-salmon' launch ceremony

GS Engineering & Construction said Wednesday that its land-based salmon farming subsidiary, Eco Aqua Farm, has completed a full demonstration of its Atlantic salmon land aquaculture technology and held a "clean K-salmon" launch ceremony ahead of its first commercial shipments.

The event took place at the Busan Smart Aquaculture Cluster in Gijang-gun, Busan, and was attended by GS Engineering & Construction CEO Heo Yun-hong, along with officials from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Busan city government and other guests. Attendees sampled Atlantic salmon raised using domestically developed technology and shared insights on cultivation techniques and operational know-how.

GS Engineering & Construction established Eco Aqua Farm in 2020, drawing on its proprietary water treatment technology. Since then, the company has managed every stage of the Atlantic salmon life cycle in-house — from eyed-egg stocking and hatching through grow-out, water quality management and harvesting — accumulating data and expertise along the way.

The Busan Smart Aquaculture Cluster employs a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) that continuously filters and purifies water for reuse, alongside a Zero Water Concept (ZWC) technology that recycles up to 99 percent of the water used. Cooling equipment and a precision temperature control system keep the water within the optimal range of 12 to 16 degrees Celsius for salmon growth even during summer heat waves, overcoming the challenge of high water temperatures.

Advanced ICT technology has also been introduced to boost operational efficiency. A supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system collects, analyzes and automatically controls equipment data via sensors, enabling real-time water quality monitoring. The company has also developed and filed a patent for a technology that uses underwater cameras to determine the optimal timing for transferring salmon between tanks.

In addition, the facility has obtained antibiotic-free certification, registered with the fisheries traceability management system and received HACCP approval, securing the safety and quality of its production process. Collaborative research on disease prevention vaccine development and hygiene improvement is also underway with external specialists, including LG Electronics and the National Institute of Fisheries Science.

The Busan Smart Aquaculture Cluster is a test-bed facility capable of producing up to 500 metric tons of Atlantic salmon per year and is on track to begin full-scale shipments by the end of this year.

"By actually raising Atlantic salmon at the Busan Smart Aquaculture Cluster, we have built up the capabilities needed across the entire land aquaculture process — from water treatment to facility operations," a GS Engineering & Construction official said. "We will continue to strengthen the competitiveness of our land aquaculture platform on the basis of the technology and data we have secured."

Meanwhile, GS Engineering & Construction recently established a proof-of-concept center to verify the performance and field applicability of construction robots and AI technology before deploying them at actual construction sites.