Yantai is planning to build four marine ranching belts in the city's western, northern, eastern and southern offshore sea areas – as it takes greater strides to become a world-class marine ranching demonstration city.

Sun Chenglie, deputy director of the Yantai marine development and fishery bureau, presented its blueprints for further marine ranching development at a news conference on Tuesday.

One of the first cities in China to develop marine ranching, Yantai, a coastal city in East China's Shandong province, is the city with the largest number of national marine ranches.

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

Official data showed that at present, the city has built 11 national marine ranching demonstration zones, accounting for one-eighth of those in China. A total of 23 marine ranching demonstration zones at or above provincial level have been established.

The city's total area of marine ranching topped 66,000 hectares, accounting for nearly one third of the city's mariculture area. The annual output of aquatic products from its marine ranches has now reached 600,000 tons and profit per year totals around 30 billion yuan ($4.3 billion).

Yantai is also taking a leading way in developing modes of China's marine ranching. It innovated one mode of linking marine engineering and ranching to improve its marine equipment.

Yantai-based CIMC Raffles has delivered a series of high-end marine fishery equipment such as semi-submersible multi-functional management platforms and deep water network box management platforms.

"The marine ranch platform utilizes the natural marine environment and large-scale fishery facilities," Sun told the conference. These helped fishermen to boost the marine resources.

He added that Yantai will also give full play to its regional and resource advantages, and utilize marine ranching to help restore marine ecological environment, boost fish and marine stocks, and protect biological diversity.

Sun Chenglie, deputy director of the Yantai marine development and fishery bureau briefs media about the city's marine ranching development at a news conference on July 16. [Photo/yantai.dzwww.com]

A typical marine ranch in Yantai, East China's Shandong province. [Photo/yantai.dzwww.com]

A marine ranch offshore platform in Yantai, East China's Shandong province. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]