USSEC Korea provided on-site visits to ten target flounder growers in Jeju-do to strengthen relationships and monitor the growers’ feeding practices.  The flounder growers are part of a target audience group that USSEC visited about a year ago to improve feeding practices as they were inclined to overfeed their fishes.  USSEC confirmed that the farmers have been trying to adjust their feeding practices to the recommendations of USSEC, feed mills or fish nutritionists in order to improve productivity.  USSEC promoted the safety of soy over fish meal in terms of level of exposure to bacteria, heavy metals and dioxin.

Such technical assistance programs are utilized by USSEC to create / increase opportunities of soybean meal and soy protein concentrate in this region where the percentage of extruded pellet feed is expected to continue to increase due to the Korean government’s subsidy program aimed at encouraging environment-friendly feed-based aquaculture.