Zhanjiang plotting course for expansion of marine ranching

New projects lead development of industry chains

Hengyi No 1, the largest mariculture platform in South China's Guangdong province, arrived at a modern marine ranching zone in Zhanjiang, a coastal city in the west of the province, on Monday, in preparation for official operation soon.

The platform, 101 meters long, 47.5 meters wide and 27.5 meters high, has a total mariculture water capacity of 60,000 cubic meters, twice the size of Haiwei No 2, which went into operation last June. Hengyi No 1 is the largest and smartest deep-sea mariculture platform in Guangdong province and can be used for the aquaculture of such fish as golden pomfret, red porgy, and flounder. If used solely for the rearing of golden pomfret, it is forecast to realize an annual output of 72 million yuan ($9.95 million) or 135 million yuan if rearing red porgy.

Taking advantage of modern mariculture equipment and technology is among the city's recent measures to step up development of the marine ranching industry. Zhanjiang has also relied on new projects to boost the growth of the sector. In early January, 10 projects, including a national cold-chain logistics base, started construction in the coastal city of Guangdong province, with a total investment value exceeding 10.8 billion yuan.

On the same occasion, the city government signed investment contracts for an additional 10 projects, including an aquatic animal breeding platform powered by wind energy, with a total contract investment value of more than 11.5 billion yuan. Together, they are expected to promote the development of the whole industry chain of the modern marine ranches and consolidate Zhanjiang's position as a global leader in the aquatic industry, local officials said.

Haiwei No 2, a giant mariculture platform in South China's Guangdong province, comes into operation in Zhanjiang in June 2023. ZHANG LING/FOR CHINA DAILY

Since 2023, Zhanjiang has taken measures to support high-quality development of its modern marine ranching industry and fortify its foothold as a national modern marine ranching demonstration city, said Mayor Zeng Jinze. The city has also launched 15 relevant policies while earning recognition as China's hometown of prawn, golden pomfret fish and other seafood cuisine.

In 2023, Zhanjiang's total fishery output reached 1.29 million metric tons, an increase of 5.1 percent year-on-year, and its output value surpassed 29 billion yuan, up 4.1 percent year-on-year.

Promoting large-scale upgrading of marine equipment, the city now boasts the province's largest breeding platform for offshore aquaculture and is home to 3,563 deep-sea fish cages, accounting for 70 percent of the provincial total.

The city has also accelerated its development of smart fisheries, including an effort to inaugurate an intelligent data center aimed at the transformation and upgrading of marine fishery toward informatization and modernization. To that end, the center issued a Zhanjiang golden pomfret indicator last year. As well, the city has formulated the first national standard system for the golden pomfret industry chain, and its golden pomfret industry cluster has been selected as a State-level one, featuring special characteristics.

To further develop the modern marine ranching industry, Zeng said Zhanjiang plans to implement the "finance plus maritime" project and set up a cooperation mechanism involving the government, enterprises and financial institutions to establish a marine industrial development fund and attract private capital to participate in the construction of its modern marine ranches. The mayor added Zhanjiang will cultivate a number of leading professionals in marine science and technology, as well as high-level innovation and entrepreneurship teams in the sector, leveraging its expansive sea area of more than 20,000 square kilometers and a coastline spanning nearly 1,250 km.

The city government recently released an overall plan for the development of a modern and characteristic maritime city — the first of its kind in Guangdong. According to the plan, Zhanjiang will integrate and optimize its maritime resources while taking digitalization, ecology and modernization as its major development directions. It will strive to build itself into a world-class green port industrial cluster, a national "blue granary", a marine ecological demonstration city, and an international coastal tourism destination.