Dalian uses high-tech to boost harvest from sea

Aquaculture businesses and researchers in Dalian, Liaoning province, are taking advantage of advanced technologies such as the internet of things, big data and 5G to improve scientific management in the field.

Xingguojinmao Seafood, which operates a State-level aquatic farm in Dalian's Changhai county, equipped its facilities with a platform combining intelligent technologies at the end of 2020.

Through its underwater visual monitoring system, the growth of its cultivated aquatic species can be observed in real-time and intelligently analyzed. At the same time, data on sea conditions can be collected.

"We can get real-time data and analysis of the salinity of seawater, the amount of plankton and others," said Wang Lixin, manager of the company.

"Based on the analysis of the nutrients, we can make adjustments on the species we cultivate. For example, when there are plenty of plankton, we cultivate more oysters," he said.

Xingguojinmao breeds different seafood species in an area that covers 20 square kilometers underwater and in buoyant rafts covering 5 sq km.

Last year, the company harvested 5 million kilograms of oysters, 2 million kg of scallops, 400,000 kg of trepang (a kind of sea cucumber) and 100,000 kg of sea urchins, fish, crabs and other seafood.

"We have no exact number to show how much we've benefited from the platform," Wang said, explaining that the changing types of seafood harvested have made comparison difficult over a short period of time. "But I can say for sure that it helped a lot. In the past, we had to rely only on weather forecasts and our own experience."

The platform monitors only an area of 6,000 square meters, he said. "But the data have reference value for the nearby areas of the sea. Now, nearby fishermen often come to us with questions," Wang said.

Changhai county's fisheries department said nine of the total 13 national aquaculture pilot areas in Changhai are now using the technological platform.

Tian Tao, a professor at Dalian Ocean University, said all 25 State-level pilot areas in Dalian will be equipped with it. The university and the city's agriculture and rural affairs bureau have been working together to set up the platforms in Dalian.

The monitoring and management system can be either fixed or movable, depending on the needs of the operators.

Tian said he and his team members have been working for years to build what is also called marine ranching. He said the government considers it to be of great importance for the sustainable and healthy development of the fishery.

In October 2017, the agency now called the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued a notice on plans for the construction of national modern aquaculture test areas. It said overfishing, pollution and other factors had led to the continuous decline of fisheries, seriously affecting their sustainable development.

The plan said that by 2025, 200 State-level marine ranching pilot areas and a national monitoring network will be established across the country.

The ministry issued a notice in 2018, offering a technical guide for the construction of an intelligent monitoring platform for the pilot areas.

Among urban areas, Dalian has the greatest number of the national aquaculture pilot zones, covering more than 3,000 sq km. In 2021, Dalian's output of aquatic products reached 2.4 million metric tons, and the value of its fishery's economic output exceeded 70 billion yuan ($10.5 billion), according to the city's agriculture and rural affairs bureau.

Officials at the bureau acknowledged that a gap remains between Dalian's aquaculture and more advanced projects in China and abroad, especially in the application of modern information technology, mechanization and automation. But they said more efforts will be made to promote policies to encourage advancement and technological innovation.

Dalian aims to become a major regional force in the marine economy, which is expected to become an even more important engine driving the city's economy.

In 2021, Dalian's GDP reached 782.59 billion yuan, up 8.2 percent year-on-year. The total output value of its marine economy reached 300 billion yuan.

The government work report of Liaoning province emphasized vigorous promotion of the high-quality development of the province's coastal economic belt, led by Dalian, and support for Dalian in building itself into a major city featuring a strong marine economy.