Workers harvest fish at the "Genghai No 1" marine ranch complex in Yantai, Shandong province on Oct 30, 2020. [Photo/VCG]

The coastal city of Yantai recently issued a three-year action plan for further developing marine ranches, which aims to build Yantai into a domestically leading and world-class marine ranching demonstration city.

According to the plan, by 2024, the number of marine ranches at the provincial level or above in Yantai is expected to reach 50, including 20 at the national level.

Yantai also strives to create a national demonstration zone for deep-sea intelligent aquacultures. It plans to put 50 large-scale intelligent aquaculture facilities into operation, produce over 50,000 metric tons of aquatic products, and achieve a total industrial chain output value of 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) by 2024.

In the next two years, more efforts will be made to build a modern marine industrial system, accelerate the transformation and upgrading of local fisheries, and promote the high-quality development of marine ranches, according to the plan.

The city will also support leading enterprises in constructing large-scale aquaculture facilities, build a national-level marine big data platform, and provide government subsidies and rewards as monetary incentives.