County in Dalian looking to become modern marine ranching pilot area

It was 4 am on July 24, and fishermen had already started working at a bay in Yangjia village, on the northern edge of the Yellow Sea.

Workers at one of the plants belonging to Dalian Zhuangyuanhai Eco-seeding in Changhai county, Dalian, Liaoning province, had taken their places for that day's work, both on shore and at sea.

The fishermen lifted cages filled with farm-raised abalone, oysters and sea urchin onto their boats and transported them to the shore, where other workers got busy sorting and cleaning the catch to prepare it for processing.

With the help of improved technology, the workers have seen the environment improve on Dachangshan Island and are marching toward a better life as part of a xiaokang－moderately prosperous－society.

"The packed seafood will be shipped out of the island on roll-on/roll-off ships early in the morning and sent directly to our customers in downtown Dalian and other parts of China such as Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and Shanghai," said Huang Changhai, the 54-year-old head of the plant.

Huang is also in charge of a new project. Since May, Zhuangyuanhai has been experimenting with raising sea urchin and sea cucumber seedlings in the same cage, with technical support from Dalian Ocean University.

"Sea urchins eat kelp and wakame, and their excrement can provide beneficial nutrients for sea cucumbers. So far, they are growing fast and healthy together," Huang said.

Changhai county has excellent water quality, and the area is an ideal habitat for fish, shrimp, shellfish, algae and other temperate marine life.

As one of China's largest bases for raising seafood, including trepang (a kind of sea cucumber), abalone and sea urchin, the county enjoys a good reputation at home and abroad.

It is in the midst of building a national modern marine ranching pilot area.

Sources from the county's fisheries department said there are 13 national marine ranch demonstration areas and two city-level demonstration areas in Changhai, accounting for 59 percent of the total in Dalian.

Last year, the county's fishery output reached 558,000 metric tons, with output valued at 7.57 billion yuan ($1.17 billion), up 13.7 percent year-on-year and accounting for 87 percent of its GDP.

Tian Tao, a professor at Dalian Ocean University, said modern marine ranching is more vertically developed compared with traditional methods like dropping artificial fish shelters on the sea floor and releasing fish seedlings into the sea.

"Scientific and standardized construction of marine ranching has proved effective in restoring and optimizing the marine environment and improving economic benefits," he said.

"We're applying more intelligent monitoring and management technology. Through big data analysis, intelligent decision-making and early weather and temperature warnings are provided."

Tian and his team are providing one-stop service for the construction and operation of marine ranching－from planning and designing to reef construction and seedling sowing, as well as the monitoring and control of ranching.

"Now the ranches are leased by different companies, each building its own, and there is no correlation between them. We should consider making Changhai a big, integrated site for marine ranching," he said.

Dalian Changhaixian Xingguojinmao Seafood operates a national-level marine ranching site in Yangjia village that covers an area of about 800 hectares.

Cao Sili, the company's sales manager, said it has invested nearly 100 million yuan since 2010 to improve the environment on the sea floor.

"Production has been increased by 20 to 30 percent," he said, adding that the company harvests about 300 tons of trepang and 100 to 150 tons of sea urchin, fish, conch, crabs and other seafood.

In Yangjia, residents are living healthy and productive lives thanks to the mariculture industry and tourism.

Zhang Cong, the village's Party secretary, said Yangjia has 345 households. It now also has nearly 100 homestays and receives 150,000 tourists a year.

"We want to lead a good life, but more importantly, we need to pursue a green, environmentally friendly, energy-saving way of life and work," Zhang said.

"This is the consensus of people and businesses on our island."

Zhi Manqing in Dalian contributed to this story.