The status of mariculture in northern China

The People’s Republic of China has a long history of mariculture production. The mariculture industry in China has achieved breakthroughs in the hatchery, nursery and culture techniques of shrimp, molluscs and fish of high commercial value since the 1950s.

The first major development was seaweed culture during the 1950s, made possible by breakthroughs in breeding technology. By the end of the 1970s, annual seaweed production had reached 250 000 tonnes in dry weight (approximately 1.5 million tonnes of fresh seaweed). Shrimp culture developed during the 1980s because of advances in hatchery technology and economic reform policies. Annual shrimp production reached 210 000 tonnes in 1992. Disease outbreaks since 1993, however, have reduced shrimp production by about two-thirds. Mariculture production increased steadily between 1954 and 1985, but has been growing exponentially since 1986, mostly driven by mollusc culture. Mollusc culture in China began to expand beyond the four traditional species (oyster, cockle, razor clam and ruditapes clam) in the 1970s. Mussel culture was the first new industry to emerge, followed by scallop aquaculture in the 1980s. Abalone culture has become a major industry in the 1990s. Traditional oyster and clam culture has also advanced and expanded in recent years. Now more than 30 species of marine molluscs are cultured commercially in China. Because of the rapid development in recent years, mollusc culture has become the largest sector of the Chinese mariculture industry, accounting for 81 percent of the total production by weight.

Therefore, the industrialization level and culture techniques for the major species in China have reached an advanced international level, with some leading the world aquaculture sector. China is also the largest country in mariculture.

Marine aquaculture has grown rapidly over the last decade. Marine cultivable areas in China, which include shallow seas, mudflats and bays, are estimated to occupy more than 1.33 million ha, as most marine plants and animals can be cultivated within the 10 m isobath using current culture technologies. In 2002 the area under cultivation and the output reached 1 352 000 ha and 12.1 million tonnes, respectively.

The principal species cultured in northern China are listed in Table 1.