Shenzhen Government Online
Govt. joins hands with firms to build sea ranches
From: Shenzhen Daily
Updated: 2023-03-17 09:03

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A computerized image of a deep-sea net pen. Courtesy of Shum Yip Group


Shenzhen's planning and natural resources bureau has recently signed strategic cooperation agreements with two local companies for the construction of marine ranches to develop a new source of sustainable food production, Shenzhen Evening News reported.


As part of Shenzhen’s ambitious plan to become a major player in China’s modern fishing industry, the city will vigorously promote new deep-sea aquaculture by investing heavily in the development and application of key fishery technologies related to off-shore ranching, artificial reefs, deep-sea wind-resistant net pens, integrated fishery platforms and breeding vessels, among others.


The city plans to expand the space for offshore aquaculture and make full use of the suitable waters of the East China Sea, the South China Sea and the high seas to carry out large-scale marine fish farming, according to the News report. The city also plans to establish major innovation platforms including a research institute and a modern fishery industrial park to inject vitality into the sea farming industry.


Nongke Group, one of the two companies that will join hands with the Shenzhen Municipal Government to construct the aquaculture farms, plans to invest 600 million yuan (US$86.98 million) to build gravity-based deep-water net pens, fishery platforms and breeding vessels in waters off Dapeng New Area and Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone.


Shenzhen has already commenced construction of the demonstration area for modern sea ranching, and the city will also build four 100,000-ton smart aquaculture vessels as part of its plan to “reclaim land from the sea,” the News report said.


According to relevant plans, by 2025, the total output value of Shenzhen’s fisheries sector will top 10 billion yuan, with the city becoming a demonstration zone for the high-quality development of modern fisheries in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).


By 2035, Shenzhen will become a model city for innovation and development in China’s modern fisheries industry and a fisheries consumption experience center in the GBA, the report said.




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