A statistical analysis of China's fisheries in the 12th five-year period

Abstract

This paper reviews the status and development of China's fisheries in the 12th five-year period using data from FAO, China Fishery Statistics Yearbooks, China Statistical Yearbooks and other sources. The main observations are as follows: in the 12th five-year period, China's aquatic products accounted for more than 35% of global aquatic production; China's aquaculture products accounted for more than 60% of global aquaculture production; in freshwater aquaculture, pond aquaculture accounted for about 70% of the national freshwater aquaculture production, and fish products were proportionally higher than others; in mariculture, bottom sowing and raft culturing products accounted for more than 50% of total marine aquaculture production and shellfish production was proportionally higher than others. There has been only a slow rise in capture production of wild fish over the same period. The freshwater catches from four provinces including Jiangsu accounted for half of the country's total freshwater catches, in which fish catches accounted for more than 70%. Marine capture production from four provinces including Zhejiang accounted for about 80% of the country's marine catches, in which fish catches accounted for more than 70%. There was an overall growth in production of processed aquatic products, particularly frozen aquatic products, surimi-based products and dry-cured products which together accounted for more than 80% processed seafood products. The average annual net income of fishermen per capita witnessed a growth of 11.71%, outpacing the GDP growth over the same period. With the rapid development of China's fisheries, there are also challenges such as overcapacity, low aquaculture product quality, resource overexploitation, as well as environmental problems. A change in approach, transformation and structure adjustment are suggested to reshape China's fisheries development model and to achieve the goal of sustainable development.