Inland aquaculture swimming in demand

"For a long time, the sea shrimp available in the markets of Sichuan province and Chongqing were mainly transported from coastal cities such as Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, and Lianyungang, Jiangsu province. The transportation costs were high and the freshness of the shrimp was uncontrollable," said Li Duosi, purchasing manager of Freshippo in Chongqing.

In 2019, a local aquatic products company in Chongqing was founded. Chongqing Dazu Zero Antibiotics Aquatic Products Co Ltd added microorganisms to artificial seawater, effectively removing particulate matter such as feces and residual bait from the water, and forming a biological circulation system.

"The breeding base is expected to have a production capacity of 150,000 kilograms next year, and provide enough shrimp for more than 30 Freshippo stores in Sichuan and Chongqing," said Huan Guoxin, founder of the company.

Huan said the breeding costs of shrimp in Chongqing are about 30 percent higher than in coastal areas. He would like to build a reputation for the brand to supply shrimp in the long term.

In the past few years, Helan county in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region in Northwest China, has seized the opportunity of ecological protection and the high-quality development of the Yellow River basin to further utilize its aquatic resources.

Wang Xujun, general manager of Ningxia Xinming Runyuan Agricultural Technology Co Ltd, said the annual output of its premium fish has exceeded 750 tons. Founded in 2005, the company has developed different varieties, such as South American prawns and California perch.

With the development of advanced technologies, the company has seen growing profits and consumers have changed their perception that inland regions are unable to breed aquatic products.

"At the beginning, we didn't know the feeding methods and the death rate of the fish was high. We constantly explored different feeding methods and broke through many technical difficulties," Wang said.

The county first introduced a variety of South American prawns in 2012, successfully cultivating it. Later, the county continued to introduce seafood breeds that can be cultured in freshwater, including California perch, freshwater grouper, yellow croaker, river clams and spotted shrimp.

With abundant sunlight and convenient irrigation and drainage conditions, the moderate acidity and alkalinity of the water in Helan are suitable for the growth and breeding of fish.

In particular, the local saline-alkaline water can't be consumed by humans or livestock and is unable to be utilized by agriculture. The vast bulk of such water resources has been in a long-term idle state. Using saline-alkali water for aquaculture is one of the methods for developing the resource, the local government said.

By the end of last year, the county's aquaculture water area reached 3,886 hectares, and the output value of the fishery achieved 814 million yuan, according to the local government.

Helan has become the largest distribution center for aquatic products in Northwest China.

Some 70 percent of the total amount of freshwater products have been sold to neighboring regions, such as Gansu and Qinghai provinces and the Tibet autonomous region.

Next, the local government plans to support the development of a group of aquatic product processing enterprises through investment attraction and resource integration. The local government aims to cultivate those enterprises with featured and premium products and help further raise their market share and competence.

In addition, Ningxia Lanwan Ecological Agriculture Co Ltd, the largest breeding base of South American prawns in Northwest China, has seen its output value reach 750,000 yuan every four months, or one productive cycle.

After China optimized its COVID-19 response measures, the company said it has seen rising output and sales volumes. The company mainly sells its products to the local market of Yinchuan.

Wang Zhuoqiong in Beijing and Tan Yingzi in Chongqing contributed to this story.