10) Shocks to aquaculture supply from “redeployment” and facilities closure?
Prices for many common species like carp and crabs are kept low in China by a profusion of supply from often-unlicensed farmers allowed to operate by local authorities, who turn a blind eye to environmental regulations. Now, these rules are being enforced as China tries to get a handle on chronic pollution. But this otherwise positive development is having a chilling effect on aquaculture producers and is forcing a major consolidation on the sector. It could also stunt investment in cleaner production, if the clampdown and clean-up is enforced in a solely arbitrary manner.
There’s the cautionary tale of demolitions in Guangdong that saw Fan Chongyi, a farmer of pigs and fish, face off with authorities, despite having been supported by local government with whom he signed a contract in 2008 (he was also backed by a World Bank loan to build a demonstration farm for handling slurry). Yet the more powerful environmental authorities in the nearby city, Qingyuan in 2017 started to crack down on breeding projects and Fan’s farm – built in part on a mudflat – was condemned for closure. He’s still fighting in the courts.
It looks like Fan’s farm will ultimately be subsumed into a giant solar farm next door. But his case will put a lot of peers off further production – or investing in better facilities or practices. Who will invest in the kinds of facilities needed to make freshwater aquaculture in China more sustainable – other than large corporations?
