China

In 2022, China produced 75.39 million tons of aquaculture products, making it the largest producer of farmed fish. China has a long history of aquaculture, with records of aquaculture dating back thousands of years. The most common species farmed are carps (74.80%), Tilapia (4.20%), and Chinese/blunt-snout bream (3.30%).

 A deeper dive:

• Chinese inland aquaculture records date back 2400 years, with marine and shellfish farming dating back 1700-2000 years.

• Large-scale aquaculture production began after the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949.

• Rapid aquaculture development has contributed to improved food supply while generating employment and income, with 4.3 million rural workers directly employed.

• Pond culture is the most important farming system in China, comprising 70.54% of all inland aquaculture output in 2003. 

• In Marine and brackish waters, aquaculture products are divided into four groups: molluscs (78.60%), seaweeds (11%), Crustaceans (5.30%), and marine fishes (4.10%).

• Aquaculture improves food supply to rural farmers and is an important means of poverty alleviation in China.

• Rice fish culture systems, where fish and rice are raised together, are practiced in poor areas due to small inputs and relatively high economic returns.

• Intensive cultures in ponds and open-water net enclosures are increasing in frequency. 

• Rapid expansion of the aquaculture industry also brings problems such as pollution, disease outbreaks, genetic deterioration, and seasonal oversupply.

• Aquaculture is threatened by agricultural and industrial effluent and the tourist industry.

• China is the world’s largest producer of Tilapia (32% of global production), a key species for food security because of low cost and high efficiency. 

• China’s fisheries have a bad reputation for unsustainable management and a lack of transparency.

Videos:

How a Billion-Dollar Chinese Aquaculture Giant (Ever Green) Sparked an Environmental Crisis

Inside China's fish hatcheries, the largest and most successful in the world

Chinese Farmers Release Fish into Rice Fields | Rice-fish co-culture | Chinese

High tech comes to high seas: China leads world in ocean fish farming