Octogenarian seeks partner for S China Sea aquaculture venture

A senior from Pingtan county, Fujian province recently appeared on a TV show to look for a partner in his dream of opening an aquaculture business in the South China Sea, according to ptnet.cn.

Lin Zailiang (right, 2nd) appears on China Dream, a TV show produced by Zhejiang TV, to seek business partners in his plan of expansion of an aquaculture base near the Mischief Reef in the South China Sea. [Photo/ptnet.cn]

Lin Zailiang, 82, said on the Aug 24 episode of China Dream that he has been engaged in the business near the Mischief Reef in the region for eight years, and he now plans to expand the project in order to make it a top-notch aquatic products processing base on the modern Maritime Silk Road.

Apart from considerable anticipated revenue from sales of fishery products, Lin revealed that the driving factor is to be able to play a role in safeguarding China’s distant frontier.

Three investors offered assistance to Lin at the scene after hearing his ambitious plan as well as his saga at sea.

It dates back to 2007, when Lin, following his retirement from the provincial bureau of aquatic products bureau in Hainan province, led 12 fellows to the Mischief Reef for the first time for fish-farming, intending to demonstrate their determination to guard China’s sovereignty over the region.

But they got off to a rough start, as the aquaculture zone was soon hit by a strong typhoon which resulted in nine deaths and an economic loss of 6.8 million yuan.

Lin himself almost got killed in another incident in 2010, when his fishing vessel bumped into a mega ship and came close to capsizing.

After a series of setbacks, the business found the right track. Lin shipped the first batch of groupers he grew from the Mischief Reef to Sanya city in Hainan, which brought him more than one million yuan of profit. He used the money to buy facilities to expand the scale of the business.

A few years later, as Chinese authorities set up administration systems in Sanya, Lin and his fellows obtained a new identity as the first members of the newly-established Mischief Reef Village. . Lin was elected as the head of the village.

Gradually, as Lin’s story was reported to more people, some business investors offered to jointly develop his aquaculture base, which gave him more confidence in its prospect.

“I hope more like-minded people can join us to do business while safeguarding the borders,” he said.