Zhoushan continues to improve distant-water fishery industrial chain

At the Huiqun wharf of the Zhoushan National Distant-Water Fishing Base, two cranes hoist bags of squid from docked transport ships onto trucks, which then transport them to nearby cold storage facilities for temporary holding.

The cold storage capacity in the core area of the base has surpassed 520,000 metric tons, forming the highest-density cluster of cold storage facilities in Zhejiang province.

"The cargo mainly comes from the Southwest Atlantic and Southeast Pacific," said Lou Hong, assistant general manager of Zhoushan Huiqun Ocean Water Fishery Development Co.

The Huiqun wharf boasts three 10,000-ton distant-water unloading docks. Since its commissioning, the volume of self-caught fish entering customs has increased every year, reaching 700,000 tons in 2023.

In the first half of this year, the core area's distant-water fishery economic output value reached 11.79 billion yuan ($1.68 billion), up 24.66 percent year-on-year, accounting for 54 percent of Zhoushan's distant-water fishery economic output value.

At the Zhejiang International Agri-Products Trade Center, a digital warehouse platform enhances transaction efficiency by facilitating online transactions, settlements, and supply chain financing, creating a complete commercial loop.

The platform has attracted over 1,000 upstream and downstream enterprises across 22 cities nationwide, with transaction volumes exceeding 5 billion yuan this year, up 37.46 percent year-on-year, according to Huang Jie, deputy general manager of the Zhejiang International Agri-Products Trade Center.

This year, the Zhoushan National Distant-Water Fishing Base has enhanced fishing, transportation, and support capabilities, improved online trade service scenarios, developed a modern marine food industrial park, and advanced the construction of a national backbone cold chain logistics base.