Abstract

China’s marine fish farming industry emerged in the late 1990s and has reached an annual output of nearly 2 million tonnes. Volumes are small compared to freshwater fish, but this is the sector challenged by weaknesses and threats and yet has the opportunity for future growth in China. There are 60 species of marine fish farmed commercially, of which only seven have undergone some level of selective breeding: an example of focusing only on the potential species for expansion. Guangdong and Fujian have the major farming areas. In terms of culture models, these range from coastal to offshore cages, floating closed containment marine aquaculture and land based recirculating aquaculture systems.

However, as a fast-growing aquaculture sector in recent years, stakeholders in marine fish farming face major challenges with regards to the real direction the industry is heading, from production models to markets. Using examples of the pompano Trachinotus spp and yellow croaker Larimichthys croceus, the presentation will discuss factors influencing markets and production costs. While the future direction for China’s marine fish farming lies in offshore areas and industrialization, it is the consumer and profit margins that may determine which species and culture models to focus on.