An Economic Analysis of Rainbow Trout Aquaculture with the Introduction of IBK Recirculating Aquaculture System

Recently, climate change has led to significant issues in inland aquaculture, such as rising water temperature and groundwater shortage. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the commercial dissemination of eco-friendly aquaculture methods, such as recirculating aquaculture system. This study aimed to conduct the economic analysis of the rainbow trout aquaculture farms utilizing the IBK recirculating aquaculture system. For analysis, we collected the data for management through 8 rainbow trout aquaculture farms. The average production cost was 370,041,000 KRW and the average cost for establishing the IBK recirculating aquaculture system was 283,588 KRW per square meter. The economic analysis revealed an average NPV of 814,565,000 KRW and an average BCR of 1.23, indicating that the rainbow trout farms using the IBK recirculating aquaculture system were economically viable. A scale-based analysis showed that the medium-scale(1,500~2,500㎡) farms exhibited the highest economic viability.