China’s marine fisheries have expanded rapidly recently. According to the 2024 Fishery Statistics of China, the value of marine wild capture production reached RMB 260.1 billion (approximately €31 billion), ranking third globally behind Peru and Indonesia. The value of marine aquaculture soared to RMB 503.4 billion (approximately €60 billion). Additionally, according to sector analysis, China’s seafood consumption is shifting toward higher-value products, such as shrimp, wild-caught fish, and deep-sea species. A report published by Rabobank Research in August 2024 forecasts that China will account for 40% of global seafood consumption growth by 2030, potentially transforming the country into a USD 29 billion (24.6 billion euro) market for seafood imports.
Beeld: © LVVN Team China
Current challenges
Despite the mentioned growth, China continues to face several major challenges in aquaculture:
- Dual pressure on resources and ccology
- Resources and environment pressure: About 45 % of spices are now in danger of extinction. For 18 consecutive years, outbreaks of Ulva green tides and frequent red tides have threatened farming areas.
- Urbanization: Coastal urbanization has encroached on prime tidal flats, squeezing near shore fishery farming space. - High costs and outdated infrastructure and facility
- Rising costs: The cost of diesel, accounting for 58 % of aquaculture expenses, is raising in recent years.
- Outdated facilities: Aquaculture in terms of mechanization, standardization, and facility infrastructure need to be improved in order to meet hygiene standards, especially, cold chain preservation and processing/distribution networks. - Limited aquaculture breeding activities
- Dependence on import: Key aquaculture species, for instance, salmonids and Pacific white shrimp, need to be imported due to a lack of domestic supply.
- Lack of suitable new species for deep-sea aquaculture: Deep-sea farming requires specific species, as not all are suited to the unique environmental conditions. These conditions differ fundamentally from those of near-shore aquaculture.
Possible solutions
What solutions can be implemented to overcome these challenges and halt the decline of wild capture resources? China now is shifting marine aquaculture from nearshore waters to the offshore deep sea aquaculture, which has become its priority for marine aquaculture development.
China has actively explored this so-called “Blue Ocean” by investing in marine ranches equipped with cutting-edge technology, with impressive results. By 2023, China’s deep‐sea aquaculture production reached 400,000 tonnes, accounting for over 20% of China’s total marine aquaculture output. The sector has been expanding rapidly, with an average annual growth rate of 26%.
- Industrialized, large scale deep‐sea aquaculture
- Aquaculture vessels: ‘120 kt Class’ vessels can each produce up to 100,000 tonnes of fish per year, leveraging large tonnage vessels for centralized, high volume operations.
- Integrated sea farming platforms: Developing combined net cages, work platforms, and barges to create “floating fishery farm” at sea. - Upgrading technology and equipment
- Storm resistant facilities: R&D on high strength anti fouling nets, wind and wave resilient smart floats, and other key gear to overcome the technical bottlenecks of complex sea conditions.
- Mechanized operations: Promoting mechanized fish aggregation, automated feeding, and harvest systems to reduce labor inputs and boost efficiency.
- Digital management: Building an offshore IoT monitoring network that uses remote sensors, satellite positioning, and big data analytics for real time control of water quality, feed, and fish health in a shoal. - High performance species breeding
- Breeding industry innovation: Focusing on selective breeding of species suited to deep sea fishery farming such as croaker and sea trout to establish a self reliant fisheries breeding system by molecular breeding and high throughput selection technology. - Diversification and cross industry integration
- “Offshore wind + marine ranch” model: As demonstrated by the “Fuxi 1” project in Shanwei, Guangdong province, which merges offshore wind power platforms with fish farming facilities to achieve simultaneous power generation above water and fish production below.
Opportunities for the Netherlands
China's growing marine fisheries present both challenges and opportunities for the global seafood market. For the Dutch fishery sector, China's shift to deep-sea aquaculture and focus on technological innovation could create potential areas for collaboration. With its expertise in sustainable aquaculture, the Netherlands could support China’s transition to deep-see aquaculture. Additionally, the rising demand for high-value seafood in China offers potential export opportunities for Dutch fishery sector.
More information
For more information, you can reach out to the Netherlands Agricultural Network team in China via PEK-LVVN@minbuza.nl.