Developers in Hainan, China are looking for investors for an expansion of a mariculture-tourism project, making it a potential a model for such projects in other parts of the country.
Subsidizing mariculture with tourism and energy projects has become a major theme in projects backed largely by state-owned companies in China.
Developers of the new project in a statement released in advance of the China International Sea Ranching [Mariculture] Expo in Dalian at the end of October they plan to farm grouper, conch, and lobster in seven deep-sea pens and five artificial reef installations in the sea off Sanya, one of China’s busiest cities for tourism. Taking place alongside the annual China seafood fair in Qingdao, the mariculture fair will showcase equipment and expertise in China’s fast-growing mariculture sector.
The investment group, under the umbrella organization Hainan Free Trade Port Sea Ranching Special Topic Investment Forum, said the project will combine fish-farming with tourism. The seven offshore pens will be open to “leisure fishing,” with tourists paying to catch fish from the pens and to dive in nearby artificial reefs to be built as part of the project.
With 64.5 million tons of output in 2020, China remains the world’s top aquaculture producer. But growth in output has slowed due to a crackdown in enforcement of environmental regulations, while at the same time, China’s seafood consumption is rising. China will need an additional six to 18 million tons of seafood annually to satisfy projected domestic consumption according to a Stockholm Resilience Centre report –titled “China at a Crossroads: An Analysis of China's Changing Seafood Production and Consumption.”
Elsewhere in China, a state-owned firm in Yancheng, on the East China Sea, has announced it will CNY 600 million (USD 90 million, EUR 78 million) on a new seafood market combining a fishing port with seafood dining, marketing, and processing facilities.
And at the recent sixth annual Rushan Oyster Culture Festival in Weihai, near the key port city of Qingdao, tourists were invited to try locally produced oysters. Rushan is seeking to shift some of its annual 700,000 tons of oysters from low-value commodity to higher value-added consumption. The trademarked “Rushan oyster” has been awarded numerous national titles, including a National Geographical Certification Mark, a Nationally Influential Regional Aquatic Product Brand, and a China Brand Trademark Expo's Gold Medal.
Photo courtesy of Hainan Free Trade Port Sea Ranching Special Topic Investment Forum
