BISFE 2025 to Spotlight Smart Aquaculture and Sustainable Trade in Busan

BUSAN, South Korea — The Busan International Seafood & Fisheries Expo (BISFE 2025) is set to open on Wednesday for a three-day run at BEXCO Exhibition Center 1, bringing together about 460 companies from 29 countries across 1,200 exhibition spaces, according to the Busan Metropolitan Government. Officials describe it as Korea’s largest fisheries-focused trade fair this year, covering seafood products, fishing and processing equipment, aquaculture technologies and policy discussions in one venue.

The 23rd edition, hosted by the city and organized by BEXCO and the Korea Fisheries Trade Association, will run from Nov. 5 to 7 at Exhibition Center 1. Busan says the aim this year is not only to exhibit products but to raise the level of international business exchange by expanding buyer programs, adding academic sessions and broadening citizen participation through tasting and promotional events.

BISFE, launched in 2003 and certified by the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI), has grown from a local seafood show into a mid-sized international trade platform. Last year’s event drew 380 companies from 22 countries and 13,249 visitors, and was credited by organizers with about US $147.9 million in business consultations and US $53.9 million in contracts. With more countries taking part this time — including seven new participants such as Ecuador, Greece and Tunisia — the city expects both the number of meetings and the export pipeline to increase.

The timing of the expo reflects broader changes in the fisheries sector. Global data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization show that aquaculture, rather than wild catch, now accounts for slightly more than half of total fish production. In Korea, total fisheries output in 2024 was about 3.61 million tons, a 2.2 percent decline from the previous year, mainly because of weaker coastal and offshore catches. Farmed production, however, has continued to expand as a more stable and export-compatible supply. Busan officials say this divergence — lower capture volumes but higher technology demand — is the main context for this year’s event.

To respond to that shift, the exhibition floor will be divided into four sections: a seafood products zone with processed and value-added items; a fishing equipment and smart aquaculture zone featuring automated feeders, water-quality control devices and processing machinery; a start-up and investment-support zone presenting marine and fisheries ventures; and a special exhibition area promoting Busan-branded seafood, award-winning local products and themed displays such as a mackerel promotion booth. The city has designated mackerel as its official fish and intends to use the expo to reinforce the brand for both domestic buyers and foreign visitors.

Participating Korean firms are expected to show equipment that makes aquaculture less labor-intensive and easier to monitor — for example, systems that measure oxygen, salinity and water temperature in real time and relay the data to operators’ dashboards; feeders that adjust rations based on fish behavior; and compact processing machines for small and medium-sized businesses. Several exhibitors have told the city they plan to promote products linked to energy savings and feed efficiency as farms face rising costs.

On the trade side, the city, the trade association and BEXCO have arranged a series of buyer-linked events: an overseas buyer invitation program backed by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, a one-day large-and-small business matching session, a global business consultation zone and a networking reception on Nov. 6 evening. These are intended to ensure that companies do not only display products but also negotiate directly with potential partners. Busan Mayor Park Hyung-jun said in a statement the city wants “practical outcomes” for exhibitors and visiting buyers, adding that expanded international participation is “a chance to activate both fisheries trade and technology cooperation.”

Alongside the commercial program, several policy and research meetings will take place inside the center. A Busan fisheries policy forum will discuss the city’s future marine-industry direction, and the Korean Federation of Fisheries Science Societies will hold an international academic conference on Nov. 6 and 7. Topics include climate and disease risks in aquaculture, market access for Korean seafood, and traceability systems required for exports. There will also be on-site risk-management training led by the Korea Fisheries Trade Association and a session sharing overseas market intelligence.

The city said the total budget for the event is about 1.4 billion won (roughly US $1 million), with 450 million won from the municipality, 800 million won from BEXCO and 150 million won from the trade association. The expo is supported by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, positioning it within a broader national effort to sustain fisheries exports amid pressure on domestic resources.

Although BISFE is primarily an industry event, Busan has retained a public element. Visitors will be able to attend seafood tastings, receive discount coupons for local products and watch an “aquascape” competition designed to make the show more accessible to general audiences. A corner displaying photos and results from the 2024 expo will illustrate how previous participants used the show to reach foreign buyers.

For local processors and marine-technology start-ups, the expo remains one of the few occasions each year when overseas buyers, government officials and research institutes are all in the same place. Some firms are shifting from raw seafood toward processed, ready-to-cook or functional products but still need export certifications, improved packaging and logistics partners. Meeting foreign buyers in Busan rather than abroad reduces their entry costs. A researcher at a Busan-based trade institute said the event “helps small firms understand what standards they must meet to sell beyond the domestic market,” adding that sustainability and hygiene requirements “are tightening every year.”

Market forecasts point to moderate but steady growth. Analysts expect Korea’s seafood and seafood-based food market to expand at around 4 percent annually over the next decade, driven more by high-value processed products and eco-friendly packaging than by rising raw-fish supply. Technologies on display in Busan this week — monitoring systems, labor-saving equipment, traceability tools and regional branding — are likely to become standard requirements for export-oriented producers.

Busan appears to be trying to hold together several strands at once: keeping its identity as a fisheries hub, supporting local firms’ exports and aligning with global discussion on low-carbon and sustainable aquaculture. None of these goals is new, but presenting them within a single fisheries-focused exhibition allows the city to signal to both domestic and foreign audiences where Korea’s marine sector is headed.

The Busan event underscores both continuity and change in an industry balancing production with sustainability. Its agenda brings together business, research and civic participation without relying on promotional rhetoric. As the industry turns increasingly toward farmed and data-driven production, events like BISFE show how tradition and innovation now share the same current.