Seoul: South Korea's fisheries output reached a record high in 2025, driven partly by strong overseas demand for dried seaweed products, the statistics agency reported.
According to Yonhap News Agency, total fisheries output amounted to 3.94 million tons last year, marking an 8.7 percent increase from the previous year, as indicated by the Ministry of Data and Statistics. In terms of value, production increased by 1.4 percent on-year to 10.25 trillion won (US$7.14 billion), setting an all-time record.
Output in the aquaculture sector, which represents the largest portion of total production, expanded by 12 percent on-year to 2.53 million tons. This growth was supported by an increase in cultivation facilities and favorable farming conditions. Notably, the output of dried seaweed, known as "gim" in Korean, surged 30.1 percent on-year to 718,000 tons due to rising overseas demand.
Coastal fishing also showed improvement, with production rising 16.3 percent on-year to 978,000 tons. This increase was bolstered by larger stocks of mackerel, anchovies, and squid, as reported by the agency.