BEIJING, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Donggang District Marine Development Bureau in east China's Shandong Province has successfully worked out innovative approaches of hatching and breeding fish and seahorse living in southern China in this district, pushing local fishery industry to transform towards high-quality, clustered, and smart development.
Introducing fine-quality pot-bellied seahorse fry from southeast China's Fujian Province, Donggang District has carried out cooperation with institutions such as Fisheries Research Institute of Fujian since 2020 and successfully made breakthroughs in the core technologies for breeding and large-scale cultivation of the southern seahorses in the north district, boosting fry survival rates to over 90 percent.
At present, Donggang District's 102,000-square-meter seahorse farming base has grown to the largest of its kind in China, producing over 100 million fry annually. In 2024, Donggang District's dried pot-bellied seahorse output accounted for 37.5 percent of the total in China, earning it the title of "China's Hometown of the Pot-bellied Seahorse".
Meanwhile, Donggang District's supply network for live seedlings has stretched from Liaoning in the north to Jiangsu in the south, reshaping the entire landscape of pot-bellied seahorse farming in northern China.
In 2025, the district brought together leading research institutions, such as the Ocean University of China, the Heilongjiang River Fisheries Research Institute, and the Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, to study on key technologies for standardized and large-scale salmon fry production.
"We have built a land-to-sea system for salmon farming with every single process controllable and traceable, said a staff member from the Donggang District Marine Development Bureau. The district has planned to build 3-5 hatchery and farming bases, aiming to produce 30 million fry annually by 2035.
In building a complete industrial chain for salmon industry, Donggang District has planned 12 key salmon projects covering all aspects of the industrial chain, including breeding, healthy aquaculture, advanced processing, cold-chain logistics, brand marketing, and cultural tourism and catering. It expects to bring the total output value of salmon industry to 10 billion yuan (about 1.4 billion U.S. dollars) by 2035.
By continuing advancing the dual-chain synergy of "one seahorse, one salmon", strengthening technological innovation, and optimizing industrial layout, Donggang District aims to become a national hub for high-quality fishery innovation and make contribution to promoting high-quality development of the marine economy. (Edited by Li Xueqing with Xinhua Silk Road, lixueqing@xinhua.org)
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