China’s nascent offshore aquaculture groups are starting to see results of massive investments into state-of-the-art farming technologies.
Shandong Caixin Wanzefeng Marine Technology, a joint venture of Wanzefeng Group and Shandong Finance Group, completed its first harvest of Atlantic salmon grown in its Sea Granary 1 off the coast of Rizhao in the Yellow Sea on 24 May.
Launched in January 2024 at a cost of CNY 300 million (USD 41.4 million, EUR 38.3 million), the Sea Granary 1 offshore farming system comprises six intelligent aquaculture cages with a single effective water body of about 60,000 cubic meters. The system is able to withstand the variety of conditions found on the high seas, is fully submersible, and is capable of producing 6,000 metric tons (MT) of salmon annually, according to SXWorker.com.
Wanzefang operates several offshore salmon-farming ventures in China, including the Shenlan (Deep Blue) 2, a technologically enabled platform designed for farming salmon off the coast of Rizhao, and a separate fish farm that features tourist facilities and a hotel.
The older Deep Blue 1 is now producing around 5,000 MT per year of Atlantic salmon, according to Xinhua. The projects have been supported by the municipal government of Rizhao, which has pledged to invest CNY 1 billion (USD 140 million, EUR 130 million) in constructing a research and development center, salmon-processing factories, deep-sea cages, and marine farms at an industrial park in the city.
Another Chinese offshore mariculture company, Qingdao-based, state-owned Guoxin Development Group, was one of 50 companies chosen to exhibit local products at the China Brand Day event in Shanghai on 10 May.
The company is now marketing yellow croaker grown aboard the Guoxin 1 aquaculture vessel, launched in March 2022. The state-of-the-art vessel is equipped with 15 aquaculture tanks and feeding systems designed to exchange water constantly as the vessel moves around the Yellow Sea. Guoxin Development Group first announced the project in November 2019 and said in November 2020 it hoped to eventually build a fleet of vessels capable of 200,000 MT of seafood production annually.
Executives from Guoxin are targeting CNY 300 million (USD 45 million, EUR 40.5 million) in sales this year from fish grown on the vessel, which recirculates sea water. The company previously announced plans to launch four more similar ships in the coming five years, allowing the company to rapidly expand production of high-end species such as yellow croaker, grouper, and salmon.
The company’s marketing materials described the yellow croaker grown aboard the Guoxin 1 as “wild,” even as its packaging materials tout its Aquaculture Stewardship Council certification. Branding farmed fish as wild has become more common among China’s deepwater mariculture firms, which have grown in number in recent years.
A recent China Central Television report from Fujian province used the term “rewilding” to describe the moving of 1-kilo sized yellow croaker from tanks to an “offshore” cage, the Dinghaiwan 2, in which the yellow croaker forage on wild fish and shrimp.
Both salmon and yellow croaker are premium species in China, often sold to high-end seafood restaurants. Guoxin may be adopting thia marketing strategy since wild-caught products often fetch higher prices than farmed ones, though the premium seafood market has struggled in China recently.
China is pushing into offshore mariculture using government policy, including subsidies, as a boost to local coastal economies, a solution to domestic food security issues, and as a valuable technology export opportunity.
