The first Zhanjiang-owned steel fishing trawlers rolled off the slipway into the Tanjiang River in Taishan, Guangdong on Nov 30, ready to embark on their maiden voyage to the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea.

The 48-meter-long Yuemayu 60333 and 60222 were built by Taizhou Santai Shipyard and owned by the Zhanjiang Xixiang Fishery.

Compared to most modern trawlers, the pair has stronger horsepower, better anti-wind capacity, and capable of round-the-clock operation. The ships are fitted with high-tech facilities such as Beidou satellite navigation and positioning system and sonar detectors.

The ship Yumayu 60333, which has a tonnage of 577 tons, one of Zhanjiang's first trawlers aimed at fishing around the Nansha Islands, launches on Nov 30. [Photo by Mo Songmeng]

"It's only the first step," said Chen Zebin, the vessels' owner and general manager of Xixiang Fishery. It took him and his team just seven months from obtaining shipbuilding and Nansha fishing approval to launching. "We will sail to Nansha for a fishing trial, and then seek remote fishing grounds, and take five trips a year."

In the past, the fishing industry in Zhanjiang was relatively small due to out-dated vessels and limited fish stocks close to the coast.

There is, however, some 1.3 million tons of fish in the waters around Nansha, some 1,000 kilometers off the coast of Zhanjiang. Around 500,000 tons of fish around the islands are able to be caught each year, according to research carried out by South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences in 2013.

As of last year, the Zhanjiang government has been encouraging local fishermen to build large vessels for farther and deeper fishing against the backdrop of China's strategy to build a marine power.

Another two fishing boats with a length of more than 50 meters are under construction and 70 percent complete at Santai Shipyard for Xixiang Fishery.