The east China coastal city of Rongcheng, a locality endowed with pleasant natural conditions for abalone fry cultivation, is now busy with abalone farming as July and August remain a critical period for abalone weight increase.
For days, the city featuring a mild climate, obvious monsoons and concentrated precipitation saw local fish farmers frequently head out to sea for feeding and cleaning up organisms clinging to abalone shells.
Such doings are regular steps to improve the quality and output of abalone, whose farming has strict requirements for seawater temperature, with 12-25 degrees Celsius being a highly suitable temperature range.
Shifting farming locations in summer and winter, referring here to the "migratory bird-style" abalone farming, is another move taken by Rongcheng and its sister cities to shorten the farming cycle and raise the survival rate of abalone.
Every year from May to October, abalones from Putian City of southeast China's Fujian Province are transported to Rongcheng, Weihai and Dalian to escape the summer heat.
From November to May, abalones cultured in Rongcheng and other nearby cities in Shandong Province are shipped to sea areas in Putian to enjoy the warm winter.
Under this farming mode, seawater temperatures that are lower or higher than the required range are effectively avoided, helping Rongcheng improve the abalone survival rate from 30 percent to 80 percent.
Currently, Rongcheng's 800-hectare abalone farming sea area and annual output of 34,000 tonnes further strengthen its abalone industrial chain, covering farming, processing, transport and trade.
In the county-level city under the jurisdiction of Weihai in Shandong Province, the abalone industry has grown into one of the pillars of the local fishery sector.
(Edited by Duan Jing with Xinhua Silk Road, duanjing@xinhua.org)
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