The 3D render image of “Mintou No.1” Project released by Xinhua (from Fujian Mintou Distant-Water Aquaculture Equipment Leasing Company)

FUZHOU, Dec. 31 (Liu Feng/Xinhua) -- The “Mintou No. 1” Project, a mobile semi-submersible wave-energy aquaculture and tourism platform, started construction at the Mawei Shipyard on December 30, 2021, which marked a new journey for Fujian to build a “marine ranch” in the field of distant-water heavy-equipment aquaculture.

On the same day, under the guidance of Fujian Provincial Development and Reform Commission and Fujian Provincial Department of Ocean and Fisheries, the Signing Ceremony of Fujian Distant-Water Heavy-Equipment Aquaculture Project and Starting Ceremony for the Construction of “Mintou No. 1” Project, hosted by Fujian Investment Group and Fujian Shipping Industry Group Company Limited, was held in Lianjiang County, Fuzhou City.

It is learned that the “Mintou No. 1” Project, jointly developed by Fujian Mintou Distant-Water Aquaculture Equipment Leasing Company and Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion under Chinese Academy of Sciences, adopts for its marine operation platform a semi-submersible structure with anchors at the four corners. The aquaculture platform, with a designed service life of 20 years, is 92 meters long, 36 meters wide, and 27 meters high, holding 62,000 cubic meters of aquaculture water. The platform has equipment for automatic feeding, mechanized harvesting, netting cleaning, fish breeding and environmental monitoring to realize intelligent distant-water aquaculture. Also on the platform are offices, meeting rooms, the Smart Fishery Center, and cabins with tourist functions, such as the sea-view rooms, allowing the facility to be a smart “sea ranch” for research, aquaculture, sightseeing, holiday tourism, etc. In the future, the marine platform will integrate its roles as the “marine ranch” and the distant-water aquaculture base to carry out a wide range of production and recreation activities, including sea-water aquaculture, observation and communication, marine science popularization, catering, and marine leisure activities such as diving, surfing, fishing, etc.

At the ceremony, as the main leading party of Fujian’s distant-water heavy-equipment aquaculture pilot projects, Fujian Mintou Distant-Water Aquaculture Equipment Leasing Company signed the contract collectively for the first time with governments of relevant coastal counties and districts, intended tenants, scientific research institutions, financial institutions and other parties on deepening the cooperation in distant-water heavy-equipment aquaculture projects and strengthening the collaboration throughout the industrial chain. The conclusion of 7 cooperative projects and 15 strategic agreements further releases the potential of distant-water heavy-equipment aquaculture in the province, and continues to advance the planning and development of the entire industrial chain of distant-water heavy-equipment aquaculture projects.

Zhan Chenhui, Deputy Director General and Inspector at Level 1 of Fujian Provincial Development and Reform Commission, said that marine economy is one of the four major economic fields that the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee and Fujian Provincial People’s Government are vigorously developing. In the next stage, Fujian Provincial Development and Reform Commission (the Marine Economic Development Leading Group Office) will continue to take the lead in working with relevant departments to further advance the pilot projects of distant-water heavy-equipment aquaculture, promote the implementation of relevant preferential policies, and support competitive enterprises in participating in the pilot projects of distant-water aquaculture equipment, for building a complete industrial chain, covering equipment R&D and manufacturing, operation and maintenance, fish farming, feed supply, cold chain logistics, aquatic product sales and processing.

The scene of the ceremony (Photo by Liu Feng/Xinhua)

The signing ceremony (Photo by Liu Feng/Xinhua)

The “Mintou No.1” Project started construction. (Photo by Liu Feng/Xinhua)

Source: Xinhua

Translation: The Secretariat