China’s fishery sector is facing a demographic time bomb that risks reducing the country’s global competitiveness, according to authorities in Zhoushan, on China’s east coast.
Municipal government officials in the city that is often referred to as China’s fishing capital have released a plan to counter the shrinking and rapid aging of the local workforce in its fishing sesctor, which accounts for 10 percent of local GDP.
The number of people employed in the local fishing industry shrunk from 66,292 to 53,730 workers between 2006 and 2016. Among workers native to Zhoushan, the decline was significant – a drop of 31.8 percent, from 49,789 to 33,952, according to a document circulated to local officials by the city Ocean and Fisheries Bureau.
The number of fishery workers aged 40 or younger declined from 18,387 in 2006 to 5,641 in 2016, according to the survey, which was conducted by local government. There was a 200 percent increase in the number of workers aged 60 and over in the same timeframe, suggesting aging is a major issue for the fishery sector.
A relaxing of resident permit rules is one of the policies being introduced by Zhoushan municipal government to ease the demographic challenges facing its fishery firms. China’s cities continue to operate a Mao-era “hukou” or residency permit system, whereby social entitlements are linked to a worker’s birthplace. Zhoushan is promising migrant workers access to education for their children, though there no mention of access to health services.
Zhoushan has traditionally been a base for China’s state-owned fishery firms, which commenced distant-water operations in the 1980’s. The city is also building a giant seafood center to serve as a trading and tourist hub.
Labor shortages have become apparent in recent years, with fishery companies engaging agencies to recruit in less-wealthy inland cities and even in detention centers. China’s overall working population shrank for the first time in 2017.
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