A new campaign against illegal coastal developments has potentially positive consequences for China’s seafood sector.
Until recently, mariculture projects had been outmuscled by a wave of real estate developments – many of which were illegal. Those developments are now being targeted by a special force, the Ocean Inspection Team (Hai Yang Du Cha Zu), set up under the State Oceanic Administration and the State Council (national government) in 2017.
Since last year, investigators have fanned out across 10 provinces and closed several major real estate developments, including one by the massive Wanda group, which builds resorts. With investigations ongoing in Fujian, Hainan, and Guangxi, investigators are now being sent to Liaoning Province, home to seafood trading and cultivation hubs including Dalian. The freeing-up of coastline could help China realize ambitions to increase its mariculture output.
