5) Ocean aquaculture: increased urgency in Chinese policy circles to get more aquaculture moved offshore
The latest signal of this trend is a closure of much-stressed Lake Tai to all fishing activities for six months, starting at the beginning of March 2019. A similar ban has come into force on the Yangtze. But Chinese Ministry of Agriculture data suggests that 70 percent of ponds in the freshwater aquaculture space in 2015 were earthen, low-tech facilities. Clearly, there’s a huge amount of investment required, and it’s difficult to see how the sector as it’s currently structured can continue as the small-scale holders are unlikely to have the funds to invest and are likely to leave the sector. While it’s not clear what the environmental impact of these projects will be (that’s hasn’t been stated as bluntly as the ambition to expand), expect lots of announcements on ocean aquaculture in 2019.
To get a handle on how this trend is affecting the Chinese economy, look at the figures for the major seafood production region of Rongcheng, where aquaculture rose only 0.6 percent in volume, and 1.3 percent in value while overall output rose 6.7 percent (to 1.14 million tons), thanks to offshore aquaculture facilities. A total of 288 distant-water vessels brought 75 percent of its 300,000 tons of catch back to Rongcheng, while 600,000 tourists paid to fish in 16 recreational fishing grounds and 14 “provincial-level pastures.”
