Lines of floating nets interconnected by wooden planks that serve as walkways, act as enclosures to raise seafood like shrimp, oysters and fish are all familiar in Ningde, in southeast China's Fujian Province, where China's cultured seafood are produced.

Thousands of fish farmers, who reside along this coastal water for decades have transferred this little fishing village into the epicenter of the yellow croaker industry – producing 75 percent of the nation's total output.

China has more than 4.5 million fish farmers, producing nearly two-thirds of the world's cultured seafood, according to the country's Fisheries Bureau. China consumes on average 65 million tons of seafood, with over 50 million coming from these floating farms.

However, before the floating farms were created, the vast sea was nearly empty due to overfishing.

"Back in 1972, due to a mild winter and overfishing the following year, over 250,000 tons of yellow croaker were caught – double the average," Liu Jiafu, the pioneer in yellow croaker industry told CGTN.

Building artificial breeding then became the priority to provide for the market.

"We had two options: either collecting the spawning parent fish in the field or to catch it in 30-40 meter deep water, which is more difficult due to fishing time and the amount of fish," Liu explained.

Thanks to Liu, fish farming is now available in China.

In 2018, the overall production of the yellow croaker in China reached 198,000 tons. In Ningde alone 140,000 tons were produced.