Big country, big ideas

The Chinese fish farming sector is steadily growing, as part of a drive to ensure food security, as Eugene Gerden reports.

The Chinese fish farming sector is steadily growing these days thanks partly to the growth of the country’s economy as a whole, which stimulates local demand for quality fish, especially in vast rural provinces of the country.

Last year, China recorded gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5.2% and the International Monetary Fund expects that growth will be around 4.6% in 2024.

Despite the economic progress achieved by China in recent years, however, the majority of the country’s 1.4 billion population still live in its rural areas, where the level of well-being remains still very low. The most complex situation is seen in western provinces of the country, which do not have access to the sea.

The development of the fish farming sector since the beginning of the 2000s has been considered a priority by the Chinese government, as a way to ensure stable food supplies to the poorest provinces of the country, as well as employment for the local population.

China remains the only country among the world’s major producers where aquaculture production exceeds catch fishing. This is partly due to its geographical conditions, given that inland rivers, lakes, reservoirs, ponds and other waters cover an area of 550 million acres, and the inland water surface area suitable for aquaculture production is about 100 million acres.

China is also one of the world’s largest consumers of fish and seafood. With annual consumption reaching 68 million tonnes and continuing to grow, despite limited fish catch, the bulk of the country’s needs in fish and seafood are already met by farmed fish. It is possible that its importance will only continue to grow.

The existing moratorium for catch in the coastal fishery areas every summer leads to the decline of the overall fish catch in the country and contributes to the growth of fish farming sector.

Carp in a market

According to the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, more than three-quarters of fish and seafood in the domestic market now comes from aquaculture, far exceeding the volume of catch fisheries.

The annual volume of farmed fish and seafood produced in China is currently estimated at 43 million tonnes coming from a total area of more than two million hectares. It accounts for 80% of overall consumption of fish and seafood by Chinese.

In 2022, Premier Xí Jìnpíng introduced the “Big Food” concept, launching an initiative which calls for an effective supply of major food groups and protein diversification, improving the efficiency of domestic agricultural production and reducing food waste.

The latest state plans envisage aquaculture as an important driver of growth for many of the country’s poor rural areas, and the means to ensure the food security of the population.

“The implementation of the ‘Big Food’ concept in the fishery field has a foundation, advantages and huge potential,” said Liu Xinzhong, Director of the Fisheries Administration Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

The Chinese government also plans to create conditions for the further expansion of the range of fish and seafood grown in the People’s Republic, which already now exceeds 300 species both for marine and freshwater aquaculture.

According to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, in volume terms, the annual output of the marine aquaculture sector is about 22 million tonnes and has seen annual growth rates of 4%-5% in the last several years. In value terms, the sector is estimated at 370bn yuan (US $51bn or around £40bn).

Aquaculture fish ponds in Kunming, People’s Republic of China

Among the centres of marine aquaculture production in China are the provinces of Hubei, Shandong and Jiangsu.

In terms of products, shellfish account for a large share of China’s marine aquaculture, with an output of 15 million tons in 2023, accounting for 69.67% of the national output; algae are second, with an output of 2.5384 million tons, accounting for 12.29%. The output of fish and crustaceans is similar, at 1.6058 million tons and 1.7438 million tons, accounting for 7.78% and 8.44% respectively.

As for freshwater aquaculture, at present its annual output is estimated at 21 million tonnes with an annual value of up to 620 billion yuan (£67bn). Compared with marine aquaculture, China’s freshwater aquaculture industry has a longer development history, a more complete industrial structure and a larger output value.

This year, the government has plans to continue its active support of the domestic aquaculture sector, paying a particular focus to mariculture.

In 2023, the Chinese government allocated 390m yuan (£42m) in fishery development subsidies to support the construction of 39 national marine ranch demonstration areas, and more than 300 marine ranches have been built.

Particular attention will be also paid to the increase of domestic deep-sea aquaculture output, which is considered as one of the most promising segments for development by the Chinese government and provincial authorities.

Yellow croaker

In 2023, national deep-sea aquaculture output exceeded 393,000 tons, accounting for more than 20% of the marine fish aquaculture output. New species suitable for deep-sea aquaculture, such as large yellow croaker “Yongdai No. 1” and “Fufa No. 1” and golden pomfret “Chenhai No. 1”, have been cultivated in various coastal areas.

As for large yellow croaker, it is currently the fish with the highest production volume of marine aquaculture fish in China, with national aquaculture production reaching 254,000 tons per year.

Xu Leju, Director of the Fisheries Development Strategy Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, said that to better meet consumers’ demand for high-quality aquatic products, the government plans to rationally adjust aquatic products through measures such as cultivating high-quality aquatic product varieties, promoting high-value, well-known varieties, and improving breeding technology.

Xu Leju commented: “It is necessary to strengthen the construction of aquatic product cold chain logistics, further expand the aquatic product consumption market in the western region, and accelerate the construction of a cold chain logistics channels.”

As part of its plans, the government has also plans to tighten environmental controls for the sector. It said that some major successes have already been achieved in this field in recent years.  For example, the Second National Pollution Source Census Bulletin, which has been recently published by the Chinese government shows that compared with 2007, the emission intensity of chemical oxygen, total nitrogen and total phosphorus per unit output of aquaculture produced decreased by 20.0%, 23.8% and 30.7% respectively.

With a big population to feed, plans for developing China’s aquaculture sustainably need to be equally big.