South Korea plans bluefin tuna breeding

South Korea is preparing to start a bluefin tuna breeding programme to help meet global consumer demand and counter the worldwide falling stocks.

Tuna farming first started in 2007 with just 11 fishes and has since expanded to 300 bluefins being raised in three net cages off Yokji Island about 520 kilometres southeast of Seoul on the country's southern coast.

The first commercial sales of tuna raised in special cages should take place in around 2015, with good potential for overseas sales to countries like Japan and China, according to the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI).

The tuna being raised are between 10 kg to 40 kg in size and have been caught for the past three years directly from the sea.

Those that have been successfully moved from nets to the holding cages are being held for observation and research purposes, according to local news media reports.

Researchers believe they may be able to start collecting fertilised eggs from the tuna as early as next year if the conditions are right.

The aim of the project to boost stocks of bluefin tuna for the market, which could be in jeopardy if the EU puts the bluefin on the endangered species list.