China grew its mariculture output in the first seven months of 2024, according to ministerial data, thanks to concerted efforts made by the country’s government to grow the practice.
Output from seawater-based aquaculture rose 5.2 percent year over year between January and July of this year, resulting in 13 million metric tons (MT) of production in the period, according to data published by the fisheries bureau at the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
China’s overall seafood output rose by 4 percent in the same period, with output from aquaculture and mariculture together rising to 58.1 million MT.
China has placed heavy emphasis in recent years on increasing output from large mariculture facilities located along the country’s coast while, in tandem, tightening supervision of the nation’s freshwater aquaculture facilities. This has led to a surge of investment by deep-pocketed state conglomerates for mariculture operations along with an increased investment in indoor and recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) models in inland areas.
One of the big players in the space is Guoxin Development Group, which has invested significantly in mariculture operations that produce premium species like salmon and yellow croaker.
The world’s top seafood producer by volume, China aims to emphasize sustainable increases in aquaculture output while improving its governance of wild-caught fisheries to effectively target international markets, according to Liu Xin Zhong, head of the fisheries bureau at the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, who recently spoke at a meeting of fisheries officials at the Rome, Italy, headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Liu said under his direction “the conservation of fishery resources will continue to improve and law enforcement and supervision will be effective.”
He also said that China was keen to facilitate more trade in seafood products and also wants to cooperate in technology transfer, assisting other countries to grow their aquaculture output.