Chinese distant-water fishing companies based in Qingdao are adding 18 new vessels to their fleets and will enter a new deal for access to fishing grounds in Kenya.
The announcement was made at a training seminar organized this week for fishing executives and officials on expanding their presence in distant waters. The forum, titled “Set Sail for Far Seas: Going Out,” and the training in “overseas cooperation” comes at the same time as a report suggested that China’s demand for seafood will upend global supply chains.
Published by the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University, “China at a Crossroads: An Analysis of China's Changing Seafood Production and Consumption” suggests China will increasingly depend on a combination of imports, aquaculture, and distant-water fisheries to meet its growing demand for seafood. By 2030, China is likely to need an additional six to 18 million tons of seafood annually to satisfy projected domestic consumption, according to the report.
China’s Agriculture Ministry has vowed to increase the presence of the country’s distant-water fleet and to work to ensure “fisheries cooperation” with African and Latin American nations. The Qingdao event was co-hosted by the ministry, which oversees fisheries, as well as the Qingdao Ocean Development Bureau and China Academy of Fisheries.
The conference took place at the offices of Qingdao Ocean Science and Technology Testing National Pilot Centre. Zhuang Zhi Meng, the deputy manager of the center, told the conference the “going-out strategy” is part of the “Blue Granary Strategy,” which is being promoted by the national government to guarantee China’s food security.
“Qingdao has 157 distant-water vessels owned by 11 companies operating in 11 African countries, including Ghana, Senegal, and Congo,” Zhuang said.
Zhuang said, as part of the region’s efforts to grow its marine economy, the China Academy of Fisheries Yellow Sea Academy has built up a Belt and Road strategy for exporting its mariculture technology and seed.
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