China’s state broadcaster has declared a success for the Yellow Sea salmon production site, which was launched last summer with much national fanfare. A new offshore salmon farming pen, meanwhile, has entered the design stage and will be tested later this year.
The China Central TV (CCTV) main news show has shown semi-mature salmon being measured on the main rig of the “Shen Lan Number 1,” a 1,400-ton platform for farming salmon, which is moored 130 kilometers off the coast of Rizhao on China’s east coast. The fish will now be moved to cages nearer to shore. It wasn’t stated how many of the original 300,000 fry will be moved.
The launch is a state-backed collaboration between Wanzefeng Fishery Co. and China Ocean University, alongside the Hubei Ocean Engineering Equipment Research Institute, which designed the rig.
“Everything is normal, growth is good and they [salmon] have come through the summer and the winter and the harshest weather,” professor Jiang Zhiqiang of China Ocean University told the CCTV news show.
Wanzefeng, meanwhile, is gearing up with its partners for the launch of the next-generation “Shen Lan Number 2,” which will be a more advanced, fully automated version of the original platform according to company chairman Li Hong, who spoke to CCTV.
The July 2018 launch of the original facility was hailed by China’s national media as an “historical breakthrough,” with significant coverage on evening national TV news programs of the filling of platforms with 300,000 salmon seedlings.
China’s national fishery officials at the Department of Agriculture have made offshore aquaculture a priority for future development and subsidies.
Image courtesy of Wanzefeng
