The mobile fish farm, named Guoxin-1, is being regarded as a technological breakthrough for China’s deep-sea aquaculture industry.
The vessel measures 249.9 metres, and will produce yellow croaker, grouper and Atlantic salmon
According to Dong Shaoguang, the deputy general manager of Qingdao Conson Development Group, the ship’s state-owned funder, the ship’s production systems rely on a non-stop water exchange between the cabin and the sea. This water exchange allows the water environment on the ship to be fully enclosed and controllable.
The vessel measures 249.9 metres, has a deadweight of 100,000 tonnes and a displacement of 130,000 – large enough to withstand typhoons. Nearly $67 million has been invested in the ship.
According to CGTN News and CMG, the cabin has 15 rooms that are all larger than two standard swimming pools. The ship can produce 3,700 tonnes of fish each year and will focus on yellow croakers, groupers and Atlantic salmon. Dong told local reporters that the ship is targeting a shorter production cycle (by 25 percent) and has a breeding capacity that is between three to five times higher than traditional cages.
The Guoxin-1 will farm in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea, with the first batch of yellow croakers raised expected to be on the market by the fall of 2022.
The Guoxin-2 and Guoxin-3 ships of the same model are due for delivery by March 2024. The construction of an improved version, the Guoxin-4, is planned to begin in late 2023.
