Fujian coast awash in aquaculture

An aerial photo shows eco-friendly plastic fishing platforms floating on the sea at Sandu'ao Bay near Jiaocheng district in Ningde on June 15. RUAN CHUANLONG/FOR CHINA DAILY

Technology further bolstering province's marine product dominance

The coast of East China's Fujian province boasts abundant marine resources and is known for its vigorous development of offshore aquaculture. On the eve of the 6th Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival, which falls on Sept 23, the province's offshore aquaculture bases in Fuzhou, Ningde, Putian and other coastal cities will welcome the harvest season.

With a sea area of 136,000 square kilometers and over 3,700 km of coastline, Fujian's production of aquatic products such as yellow croaker, abalone, oyster, kelp and seaweed ranks first in the country.

More than 1,100 5G base stations have been set up along the coast. As a result, wireless networks fully cover nearshore areas in Fujian, giving it a unique advantage in the development of the marine economy. At the same time, technological innovations in the entire industrial chain related to marine fisheries and aquaculture continue to be realized.

Fujian produces over 80 percent of the country's farmed large yellow croaker, more than 70 percent of its farmed abalone and about 50 percent of its kelp. Ningde city, known as the "capital of large yellow croaker", has carried out large-scale integrated improvement of offshore aquaculture, promoting the transformation from traditional fishing rafts to plastic ones.

To achieve high-quality development, Fujian has invested in the construction of more than 20 deepsea aquaculture platforms, with an annual production of nearly 5.5 million metric tons of aquatic products.