Fujian Province Vigorously Promotes the Transformation and Upgrading of the Marine and Fisheries Economy

Fujian is Aquatic products A major province in terms of production, consumption, and exports. Estimated for 2018 Fujian Province Fisheries The total economic output reached RMB 300 billion, with a total aquatic product output of 7.78 million tons and an average per capita net income of RMB 21,417 for fishermen. A series of Marine Fisheries The implementation of key projects has not only laid the foundation for developing a modern fisheries sector that is innovative, harmonious, green, open, and inclusive, but has also made significant contributions to ensuring the supply of aquatic products, increasing fishermen’s incomes, and promoting economic and social development.

Building a Trillion-Yuan Modern Fisheries Industrial Chain
   

“The sea is the rice field of the people of Fujian.” In recent years, Fujian Province has vigorously promoted “brand-name fisheries, ecological fisheries, and smart fisheries,” built a hundred-billion-yuan aquatic-product industrial chain, and advanced supply-side structural reform in the fisheries sector, achieving encouraging results.
According to reports, in 2018 the output value of ten key specialty aquatic species in Fujian, including large yellow croaker and grouper, reached 3.49 million tons, with the total output value of the entire industrial chain expected to exceed RMB 95 billion. Furthermore, eight provincial-level demonstration zones for the distinctive advantages of aquatic products were established in the first batch, covering varieties such as Jiaocheng large yellow croaker, Xiapu kelp, and Fuding Tongjiang perch. Focusing on three key sectors—kelp, shrimp, and pufferfish—the province has strategically planned and optimized seed production and aquaculture operations to enhance efficiency and create new drivers of economic growth for the industry.
“Our goal is to ensure that in 2019 the output value of the top ten aquatic species accounts for more than 65% of the total output value of aquaculture, and that the total output value of the entire industrial chain for these ten flagship species exceeds RMB 100 billion,” said a responsible official from the Aquatic Products and Quality Supervision Division of the Fujian Provincial Ocean and Fisheries Bureau. Looking ahead, the province will consolidate special funds at or above the provincial level and give priority to supporting the construction of projects along the ten industrial chains each with an output value exceeding RMB 100 billion, with the aim of fostering a number of comprehensive fishery complexes and model enterprises that boast complete industrial chains spanning broodstock production, aquaculture, processing, distribution, and recreational fisheries. In addition, the third round of the Aquatic Seed Industry Innovation and Industrialization Project will be continued, accelerating the establishment of genetic breeding centers, germplasm resource banks, original and superior seed farms, and seedling nurseries for the three major species—kelp, shrimp, and pufferfish—and supporting the development of a number of high-quality, high-standard, and modern aquatic seed-production bases. The province will also work to cultivate leading seed-industry enterprises and well-known seed brands, striving to achieve a coverage rate of over 70% for superior strains among the key farmed species this year.

Leverage Advantages to Establish Distinctive Features Aquatic product brand
       
This year, Fujian will continue to strengthen the development of regional public brands for industrial chains, actively participate in the national-level fisheries public brand selection, and encourage and support localities in launching distinctive regional fisheries brand selection initiatives, thereby further elevating fisheries production to a new level.

Deep-water net cages “net” in abundant catches

Fujian is a major marine aquaculture province, ranking second nationwide in both farming area and output value. To promote the high-quality development of the marine aquaculture economy and enhance the ecological environment, Fujian actively promoted the use of deep-water, wave- and storm-resistant aquaculture cages in 2018, with initial positive results already emerging.

       Aquatic products According to a responsible official from the Quality Supervision Office, in the future efforts will be intensified to apply new technologies and materials to upgrade and modernize traditional aquaculture equipment, vigorously promote intensive and efficient farming methods such as factory-based aquaculture and deep-water wave- and storm-resistant cage culture, and explore the development of offshore and deep-sea aquaculture. At the same time, work will be further advanced to foster three major aquatic-product-processing industrial clusters—Southern Fujian, Central Fujian, and Eastern Fujian—and to support the establishment of more than 10 new production lines for the sophisticated processing of aquatic products.

Strengthen Regulation to Ensure Food Safety

       Food safety is one of the top public concerns, and as aquatic products are a staple on Fujian residents’ tables, their safety directly affects countless households. Fujian Province places great emphasis on food safety at the dining table. In 2018, the province conducted random inspections on 840 batches of key farmed species, including large yellow croaker and sea bass; established a “Legal Team for Aquatic Product Quality and Safety,” which carried out a total of 1,402 law-enforcement inspections and handled 16 cases involving aquatic product quality; developed a “One Product, One Code” full-chain traceability system for aquatic product quality and safety, bringing more than 5,000 enterprises into the scope of traceability operations; and organized events such as “Food Safety Public Awareness Week” and “Aquatic Product Quality and Safety Theme Day” to enhance aquaculture farmers’ legal awareness and sense of primary responsibility for quality and safety. According to statistics, in 2018, Fujian Aquatic Products Quality and safety continue to improve, with a 99.8% pass rate in provincial- and ministerial-level random inspections of aquatic product production sites, and no serious aquatic product quality and safety incidents reported across the province.

      According to reports, in 2019 Fujian Province will promote the standardized and reduced-use application of veterinary drugs in aquaculture, and comprehensively advance the “one product, one code” full-chain traceability system for aquatic product quality and safety. More than 5,800 registered food-grade aquatic product production enterprises, fishery professional cooperatives, and family farms will be entered into the system. The goal is to maintain a pass rate of over 97% in random inspections of aquatic products at their place of origin in 2019.

  Deeply Cultivating Marine Pastures to Boost Ecological Fisheries

The marine environment is the foundation for developing the marine economy. In 2018, Fujian Province intensified efforts to protect aquatic biological resources, continued to carry out stock enhancement and release programs as well as conservation of aquatic wild animals, and established 11 national-level aquatic germplasm resource conservation areas. At the same time, the province strengthened marine environmental monitoring and monitoring of resource and environmental conditions in key inland fishery waters, and proactively responded to red tide disasters and fishery pollution incidents.

       Through the scientific deployment of artificial reefs, the cultivation of algae, and the enhancement of aquatic biodiversity, Fujian has actively developed marine ranches, effectively improving the marine ecological environment, conserving fishery resources, enhancing marine biodiversity, and expanding the multifunctional benefits of fisheries. Construction of the national-level marine ranch on Nanri Island in Putian and the artificial reef project for the marine ranch in the Donghan waters of Fuqing are progressing steadily. In the future, Fujian will continue to conduct baseline surveys of marine ranch infrastructure.

A responsible official from the Aquatic Products and Quality Supervision Division stated that, although Fujian’s modern fisheries sector achieved commendable results in 2018, it still faces a number of challenges, including a relatively small number of planned and leading enterprises, a low level of industrialization in the fisheries sector, a limited range of high-value processed aquatic products, increasing pressure from land-based pollution discharges, overall low production efficiency in the fisheries industry, inadequate public infrastructure, and insufficient integration among different sectors of the industry. Moving forward, relevant authorities will leverage Fujian’s comparative advantages to promote high-quality development of the province’s fisheries economy and enhance the sector’s aesthetic appeal and overall image.

Fuzhou Development Zone Dongsheng Aquatic Products Co., Ltd. www.tosun5758.com