Farms to provide 70 per cent of fish

CHINA - At least 70 per cent of fish available on the Chinese market will be from farms rather than the sea within five years, agricultural officials said yesterday in Beijing.

The country will highlight conservation of aquatic resources by imposing seasonal fishing bans and downsizing the fishing fleet, Vice-Minister of Agriculture Niu Dun told a national conference.

"While securing a steady growth in catch, we must continuously improve quality and safety levels of aquatic products," he told provincial aquatic bureau chiefs yesterday.

To meet surging consumption, the size of the country's fishery catch is projected to expand from 51 million tons in 2005 to 60 million tons by 2010, Niu said.

By then at least 70 per cent of the output will come from aquaculture (fish farming) instead of offshore fishing, he said. The current ratio is estimated at 67 per cent, according to Niu.

To reverse over-fishing and avoid depletion of fishery resources, China will continue to secure negative growth in offshore fishing until 2010, when offshore catch will be capped at 12 million tons, he said.

While aquaculture is being advocated to support farmers' income growth, the country is determined to change the rearing method of feeding fish in the farms with fries, Niu said.

Each year, at least 3 million tons of fish fries are caught and used as food and bait for larger fish in the farms, a practice detrimental to protection of both environment and resources, according to the ministry sources.

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Source: China Daily

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