Scientific farming boosts aquaculture development

A large intelligent marine farming platform called Havwii 2 was launched in Guangdong province on June 20, joining Havwii 1, a truss fishery platform launched in April 2022, to augment Zhanjiang's industrial chain of deep-sea aquaculture technology.

Built with a total investment of 30 million yuan ($4.15 million), Havwii 2 can resist strong wind and waves and merely requires a crew of three or four operators. It adopts an intelligent management system and boasts smart equipment involving automatic feeding and monitoring, which can trim labor costs by 60 percent.

The platform, expected to have an annual output value of 70 million yuan, will provide a breeding ground for premium and rare sea fish and function as an advanced farm for larger species.

Liu Ding, chairman of Guangdong Havwii Aquaculture, said the successful operation of Havwii 1 indicates deep-sea farming is safer and more stable, and that intelligent farming platforms will play a great role in fishery breeding. Liu noted that in the event of a typhoon, Havwii 1 can sink up to 8 meters to reduce the effects on fish in net cages, while Havwii 2 can sink up to 12.5 meters.

Zhanjiang's promotion of equipment transformation and upgrades in other areas has accelerated development of intelligent apparatus to promote the upgrading of its aquaculture industry. With an industrial foundation rooted in marine farm equipment and aiming to modernize deep-sea devices, Zhanjiang supports the technical upgrading of fishery equipment manufacturers.

Relying on scientific research institutions such as Zhanjiang Bay Laboratory and Guangdong Ocean University, the city has established a modern marine ranch research institute and cooperated with domestic organizations like China Agricultural University and Huawei to carry out key technology research in smart fishing. Advanced technologies such as photo-thermal farming and precision feeding are also being explored.

On June 29, the Longwang Bay park of Zhanjiang Bay Laboratory was completed and the lab's big data center on fishery opened. Located in Haidong New Area, the park wants to build a platform for marine scientific and technological innovation, while the center is committed to the unified management of deep-sea aquaculture systems by helping to collect, store and integrate fishing data.

Zhanjiang Bay Laboratory will also develop systems to provide intelligent aquaculture decision support involving operation, control and early warning programs.

Mai Kangsen, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said it is hoped that Zhanjiang Bay Laboratory will seize the spotlight brought by nationwide construction and help Zhanjiang become a demonstration city of modern marine farms.

Zeng Jinze, mayor of Zhanjiang, said he hopes the lab will draw more innovative projects and promote the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements.

Zeng said the city government fully supports the construction and development of Zhanjiang Bay Laboratory and will provide quality services for innovative projects while building the lab into an area that retains science and technology professionals and promotes high-quality development of the marine economy.