Shandong will spare no efforts to promote the development of modern marine ranching in a bid to build a stronger marine economy with cutting-edge technology and outstanding marine ecosystems, according to a news briefing convened by the Shandong Development and Reform Commission on Jan 22.

A marine ranch is a certain sea area in which fishermen adapt large-scale fishery facilities and systematic management systems to utilize the natural marine environment to raise marine resources including fish, shrimp, shellfish and algae. 

The process has often been compared to grazing flocks and herds on a farm. 

"By leveraging the province's first-rate marine technology and equipment, Shandong will make a special effort to promote the advancement, intellectualization and diversification of its marine ranching from coastal areas to deep seas, so as to build a comprehensive pilot demonstration area in this sector," said Liang Wenyue, vice director of Shandong Development and Reform Commission. 

An investment of about 5.3 billion yuan ($780 million) will be needed to build the comprehensive pilot marine ranching demonstration area involving offshore and abyssal areas. 

Combined measures such as building artificial reefs and cultivating and releasing various fish fry will be adopted in the province's offshore area to rejuvenate the underwater environment and replenish the fish population. 

By providing hard surfaces to which algae and invertebrates such as barnacles and coral can attach, artificial reefs attract large numbers of marine creatures and provide homes and food for fish, which allows fishermen to reduce the scale of sea farming and the pollution it causes and reduce the scale of long-range fishing to protect marine life in the deep oceans. 

Various types of marine ranches will be built in waters of the Changdao Islands, the south area of Yantai-Weihai region, the offshore area of east Qingdao and the east coast of Rongcheng. 

Modern marine technology and facilities will be fully utilized to expand space for fishery development in the abyssal areas, where pilot projects for large-scale intelligent aquaculture will be carried out. 

The comprehensive pilot marine ranching demonstration area will be constructed in three stages and the first-stage project will start before this February. 

Shandong province, endowed with vast marine resources, is home to China's biggest peninsula and has a coastline which equates to one sixth of the country's total and adjacent sea areas of about 159,500 square kilometers. 

Shandong's marine ranches at provincial level and above numbered 55 in 2017, including 21 at the national level that were one third of the country's total. 

The income of Shandong's marine ranches topped 210 billion yuan in 2017, ranking first in the country. 

Shandong's sea ranches are focused on fishing, artificial-reef building, bottom-dwelling shellfish planting, seafood planting and fish-farming with modern technologies and equipment.

The Shandong Development and Reform Commission convenes a news briefing to introduce its plan to build a comprehensive pilot marine ranching demonstration area in Jinan, capital city of Shandong province, Jan 22, 2019. [Photo/zhonghongwang.com] 

A marine ranch platform developed by CIMC Raffles is delivered in Laishan district of Yantai on March 10, 2018. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A production base of CIMC Raffles, a maritime engineering equipment supplier in Shandong's high-end maritime manufacturing industry. [Photo/China Daily]