China-Smart Fish Farms

Shotlist

Yantai City, Shandong Province, east China – Recent (CCTV – No access Chinese mainland)
1. Aerial shots of marine ranches
2. Various of fish in net cages
3. Various of staff members feeding fish
4. Screen showing monitor system of marine ranch
5. Fish in net cage
6. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Li Peng, staff member, Yantai Jinghai Marine Fisheries Co., Ltd.:
“There are five net cages in operation, and we have released over two million fish fries, tripling the amount registered in 2021, an encouraging growth speed in deed.”
7. Aerial shots of 100,000-ton smart aquaculture ship Guoxin-1 at sea
8. Various of technicians in control room of the ship
9. Screen showing fish tanks in ship
10. Fish
11. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Gong Yang, head of production and operation department, Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co., Ltd., China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC):
“Our annual production of large yellow croaker, weighing over 500 grams each, has exceeded 3,700 tons.”
12. Aerial shots of ship at sea
13. Staff members releasing fish fry
14. Screen showing fish tanks
15. Staff members working
16. Various of fish
17. Aerial shots of ship at sea

Storyline

Smart marine farms equipped with intelligent cages, featuring auto-cleaning, data collection and precise feed casting functions, are driving the growth of China’s fishing industry.

In waters off the coast of Yantai City, east China’s Shandong Province, the smart net cages with a length and width of both 68 meters each, offer fish a wild-like living environment in the 94,000 cubic meter space.

“There are five net cages in operation, and we have released over two million fish fries, tripling the amount registered in 2021, an encouraging growth speed in deed,” said Li Peng, staff member of Yantai Jinghai Marine Fisheries Co., Ltd.

Thanks to a variety of intelligent systems, only two to four technicians are required to monitor and manage the breeding condition.

At the same time, a 100,000-ton smart aquaculture ship built by China is about to bring its first batch of yellow croakers to the market later this month.

Known as Guoxin-1, the ship can move along China’s sea areas for different seawater temperatures according to the demand.

The nearly 250-meter-long vessel has a deadweight of 100,000 tons and a displacement of 130,000 tons. The hold of the ship contains 15 fish tanks, each larger than two standard swimming pools.

The ship has a capacity to produce 3,700 tons of high-quality fish annually, including yellow croakers, groupers and Atlantic salmon.

“Our annual production of large yellow croaker, weighing over 500 grams each, has exceeded 3,700 tons,” said Gong Yang,

Up to date, China has built a total of 153 state-level marine farms demonstration zones following the continuous development of deep-sea aquaculture and the construction of marine ranches.