From Sea to Table

Tuna for canning Tuna for Sashimi Squid pollack Saury Toothfish

Tuna for canning

(Fishing grounds)

Tuna species used for canning include skipjack, yellowfin, and albacore, but mainly skipjack tuna. In particular, most canned tuna sold in Korea is made from skipjack tuna.
Skipjack tuna is mostly caught in the tuna purse seine fishery.
More than 90% of Korea's tuna purse seiners operate in the EEZs and high seas of the Central and Western Pacific Island Countries, and some operate in the Indian Ocean.

(Fishing)

Tuna purse seine fishing involves surrounding a school of tuna with a large net 2.5 kilometers long and 200 meters high and then tightening the net.
When a school of fish is discovered, the skiff boat at the stern holds one end of the net and the main vessel moves in a circle to set the net. After that, tighten the bottom of the net.
Tuna purse seine fishing started using Helicopters in 1979. Recently, drones has been used for finding fishes.

(Storage/Transportation)

The caught fish are sorted and washed on deck and then frozen in the fishing shed by using the brine freezing - a process where a sodium chloride solution (water and salt) is used at very low temperatures to freeze food products.
Once the storage is full, the catches is transshipped from the main vessel to a refrigerated carrier. The carrier moves domestically or overseas (Asia such as Thailand, or South America) and lands the catches at the destination.

(Processing)

Domestic canned tuna processors include Dongwon Industries (Mokpo, Masan), Sajo Industries (Goseong, Gyeongnam), and Ottogi (Tongyeong). Canned tuna produced in Korea is either sold domestically or exported overseas.
Overseas processing plants produce tuna products such as canned tuna in Samoa by StarKist, owned by Dongwon Industries, in Senegal by S.C.A. SA, owned by Dongwon Industries, and in Ghana by PANOFI Co., Ltd. a joint venture of Silla Company.

Tuna for Sashimi

(Fishing grounds)

The tuna species used for sashimi are bluefin tuna and bigeye tuna. Most of them are caught by tuna longline fishing.
More than 90% of Korea's tuna longline fleet operates in the EEZ and high seas of the Central and Western Pacific Island Countries, and some operate in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

(Fishing)

Tuna longline fishing is a method of catching tuna by attaching sublines at regular intervals to a long main line and using bait, such as saury or squid, to hook the tuna.
Tuna longline fishing was the first deep-sea fishing of Korea. It began operations in 1957.

(Storage/Transportation)

Tuna fishing vessels rapidly freeze tuna for sashimi at temperatures below -60C to preserve the taste and nutrition of raw tuna.
Fishing vessels land catches in Korea, and most of them are exported to Japan.

Squid

(Fishing grounds)

The squid caught in the deep sea fishery is mainly Illex squid (Argentine short-finned squid), which is similar in appearance and size to the Japanese flying squid caught in Korea's coastal waters.
Korea's main fishing grounds are the Falkland Islands in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean and the FAO Zone 41 high seas area. Jumbo flying(Humboldt) squid is also caught in the high seas waters near Peru, in the FAO Zone 87(SPRFMO) area.

(Fishing)

The vessels used for Illex squid fishing are jigging fishing boats and trawlers. The Jumbo flying(Humboldt) squid are caught using jigging boats.
For jigging fishery, most fishing operate at night.
After detecting squids and anchoring the vessel, all of the overhead fishing lights are turned on to ensure that the school of squids that has gathered around does not escape. At the same time, the underwater fishing lights are turned on to bring the squid as close to the surface as possible.
Once the squids have risen to a enough depth around the vessel (typically 50 meters), unwind the fishing on the reel drum, lower it to the squid school, and rewind it. The gear uses the rotation of the drum to create a continuous up and down motion from the deck to the school. The squid are caught by this constant up and down motion.
Squid trawlers fish the same way as other trawlers, such as pollack trawlers.

(저장·운반)

(Storage/Transportation)

Squid caught by installed in the drum of the fishing boat are released from the fishing as soon as they are caught and fall into the waterway, where they are collected by the seawater flowing in the waterway into the collection bins installed on the port and starboard sides of the deck.
In front of the bins, the catches are sorted by size and placed in freezer pans to be frozen in a deep freeze.
Once the fishing hold is full, the catches are transshipped from the fishing vessel to the freezer carrier. The catches are then transported to South Korea by carrier and landed at Busan Port.
In the case of squid trawlers, the squids poured into the “fish pond – where separate the catches - ” are processed immediately as they are moved on the conveyor belt to the processing table.
The processed catch is dumped into pans and flash frozen in the chill room for about 4 hours. After the frozen pans are separated, they travel down the conveyor belt to the fish hold.
Once loaded into the hold, the catches are either transshipped to the carrier vessel or transferred by the main vessel and landed at Busan Port.

(Domestic distribution)

Deep sea squid are mostly domestically distributed and easy to find. The country of origin is labeled as deep sea or deep sea (Atlantic).

(Product form)

pollack

(fishing grounds)

Korean pollack deep sea fishing vessels operate only in the Northwest Bering Sea (Russian EEZ).

(Fishing)

The pollack fishery operated by trawlers. A single trawler pulls a sack-like net with deployable plates. These plates are fishing gear that widen the net from side to side, like airplane wings to create a force that tends to spread sideways in the water.
The fishing vessel moves forward at medium speed after the sonar, unwinds the net from the stern net drum, and releases the net from the end through the stern ramp. Once the deployment plate and dragline are dropped, the boat begins to drag the gear.
After dragging the gear horizontally for a period of time, the trawl winches are used to start the netting. A door connected to a processing room on deck is then opened to pour the catches into it.

(Storage/Transportation)

After being poured into the fish pond, the catch is immediately processed as it exits on a conveyor belt to the processing area.
The processed catch is dumped into pans and flash frozen in the chiller for up to 4 hours. After the frozen pans are separated, they travel down the conveyor belt to the fish hold.
The catches loaded in the hold are either transshipped to the carrier vessel or shipped onto the main vessel and landed at Busan Port.

(Domestic Distribution)

pollack caught in the deep sea is mostly distributed domestically and easy to find. The country of origin is labeled as deep sea or deep sea (Pacific).

(Product form>)

Saury

(Fishing grounds)

Korean deep sea saury fishing vessels operate in the high seas waters of the North Pacific(NPFC) and the Russian EEZ.

(Fishing)

Saury fishing uses stick held dip net. Most saury fishings are operated at night.
The vessel turns on the fishing lights, search lights, and guidance lights and move forward at a slow speed to lure the fish around the vessel. When the fish are crowded, the vessel drops the anchor and turn on the only the fishing lights to catch the fish on the side where the fishing lights are located (usually the starboard side). After that, they cast a net on the opposite, lure the school of saury to there, and tighten it to catch them.

(Storage/Transportation)

After being poured into the fish pond, the catches are immediately processed on a conveyor belt as it exits to the processing area.
The processed catches are placed in 10 kg boxes by size.
All catches in the box are quickly frozen in a quick-freezing room for about 5 hours. After separation, the frozen boxes are taken down a conveyor belt into the fish hold.
Once the fishing hold is full, the vessel moves to Korea and land the catches at the port of Busan.

(Domestic Distribution)

Pacific saury is mostly domestically distributed and easy to find. The country of origin is indicated as deep sea or deep sea (Pacific).

(Product form>)

Toothfish

(Fishing grounds)

Korean bottom longline vessels for toothfish operate in the waters of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and the Southwest Atlantic Ocean (FAO 41).

(Fishing)

Bottom longline is used to fish for toothfish.
Bottom longliners use baited hooks attached to a pair of mainline weighted down to the seafloor.

(Storage/Transportation)

After catching the fish, the head and tail are cut off, the internal organs are removed from the body, and each part is rapidly frozen in a freezer at ultra-low temperature and stored in a fishing vessel. It is transshipped to a refrigerated carrier and transferred into the country or exported mainly to the United States and China.

(Domestic distribution)

Toothfish is easy to find in Korea. The origin is labeled as deep sea or deep sea (Antarctic Ocean) or deep sea (Atlantic Ocean).