Changes in ocean conditions caused by climate change are leading to investors to abandon the mariculture sector, warned Cui He, the secretary general of the China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Association (CAPPMA), at a recent aquaculture conference.
In response, CAPPMA, China’s leading seafood industry representative body, will be ramping up research efforts into the impacts of climate change, through a project based on the Yellow Sea production base, Cui He said.
Warming ocean waters could severely limit ambitious Chinese plans to increase its mariculture production, Cui He at the “Increasing Risks to Mariculture: Warning and Response Strategies” conference in Qingdao. Others presenting at the conference included the senior scientists at the Ocean Research Center, based in the China Academy of Sciences, as well as researchers from the national Ocean University of China and the Dalian Ocean University, a leader in mariculture research.
Cui He’s statements could alleviate some of the pressure gathering recently on shellfish producer and seafood importer and distributor Zoneco (Zhangzidao), which recently claimed a lack of normal feeding materials had caused the die-off of large parts of its shellfish stocks, wiping out company earnings.
