China's deep-sea fish farms go high-tech

Near Guishan Island in south China's Guangdong Province, a giant offshore aquaculture platform known as "Gesheng No. 1" is helping reshape the country's "blue granary" with smart technologies.

Dubbed a "deep-sea farming factory," the platform is an upgraded version of the earlier "Penghu" model. Its farming capacity has doubled from 15,000 cubic meters to 30,000 cubic meters, while its daily operations require only three staff members.

Engineers said the shift from a box-shaped structure to a tubular frame reduced steel use and improved the platform's ability to withstand waves and typhoons.

Digital technologies are also transforming fish farming. Through intelligent sonar systems and automated feeding, farmers can monitor fish growth in real time. Based on environmental data models, this year's new batch of fingerlings achieved a survival rate of more than 98%.

Researchers are now developing even larger and more advanced offshore platforms. One project, called "Zhuhai Qin," is designed as a digital intelligent platform with liftable and foldable net cages able to resist typhoons up to force 15.

The project aims to keep construction costs for a 60,000-cubic-meter farming system below 30 million yuan (about $4.43 million), or roughly 500 yuan per cubic meter.

Technology upgrades are also extending to fish breeding. In Zhuhai, a local breeding industrial park has introduced a "land-sea relay" model. Fish fry are first raised in land-based ponds before being transferred to deep-sea cages. The process shortens transport time to within three hours, lifts survival rates to over 95%, and cuts seedling costs for farmers by around 15%.

Local researchers have also developed improved fish breeds. One newly cultivated yellowfin seabream variety showed a 28.6% increase in body weight compared with conventional groups during farming trials.

Experts said closer cooperation between laboratories, enterprises and local fisheries is accelerating the commercialization of marine science breakthroughs and helping bring more affordable, high-quality deep-sea fish to ordinary households.