Hainan pushes forward modern, recreational fisheries development

As the province with the largest sea area under the jurisdiction of the country, Hainan has excellent conditions for the development of recreational fisheries. Hainan's recreational fishery market has unlimited potential with the improvement of people's living standards and the growing leisure demand.

The coastal city of Sanya actively responds to the fisheries transformation requirements of Hainan province. In recent years, Sanya has vigorously promoted the development of its deep-water cage aquaculture industry. To date, there are 170 high-density deep-water cages in the waters of the Sanya Bay agriculture and fisheries area, with an annual breeding output of 5,500 metric tons.

"The Sanya Bay agriculture and fisheries area has excellent water quality, suitable flow velocity, and good shelter conditions from wind. It is the most suitable sea area for deep-water cage aquaculture in Sanya," said Liu Jinping, the head of a local marine industry company, adding that the company aimed to build a maritime modern fishery industrial park in the city.

In addition, the tropical city has organically integrated fisheries with leisure and entertainment, ecological construction, scientific popularization, as well as peripheral product development to achieve the simultaneous improvement of ecological and economic benefits.

Hainan's recreational fishery has made good results. In 2021, the total output value of recreational fisheries in Hainan province reached 1.37 billion yuan ($217 million), while the number of tourists received throughout the year was 5.14 million.