South Korea has found a way raise salmon, a fish that has until now mostly been imported to the country. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on Monday that it will begin to ship 500 tons of salmon harvested in waters off Goseong, Gangwon Province from Tuesday.
 
South Korea is the first Asian nation to have succeeded in salmon farming.
 
South Korean marine products firm Donghae STF brought in salmon eggs from Canada, hatched and raised them for ten months in a freshwater breeding ground. The firm then kept the salmon in submerged pens off the east coast below a depth of 25 meters, maintaining water temperatures between 15 and 18 degrees Celsius.
 
Salmon is the second most popular farmed fish sought out by South Korea after flounder.
 
Consumption of salmon in South Korea nearly tripled in the past five years, jumping from 12-thousand tons in 2010 to 34-thousand tons last year. Currently, the nation depends on imports for 32-thousand tons of salmon.