FAO FISHERIES TECHNICAL PAPER 215 FIR/T215(En)

Freshwater aquaculture development in China

Report of the FAO/UNDP study tour organized for French-speaking African countries

22 April–20 May 1980

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

M-44
ISBN 92-5-101113-3

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Director, Publications Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.

PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT

This document was prepared on the basis of the information collected in China during a study tour organized for the French-speaking African countries, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, with the financial assistance of the UN Development Programme.

The original document was published in French in 1981 under the title “Développement de l'Aquaculture Continentale en Chine”.

Distribution	For bibliographic purposes this document should be cited as follows:
FAO Fisheries Department	FAO, 1983 Freshwater aquaculture development in China. Report of the FAO/UNDP study tour organized for French-speaking African countries. 22 April – 20 May 1980. FAO Fish.Tech.Pap., (215):125 p.
FAO Regional Fishery Officers
FAO Country Representatives
FAO Field/Aquaculture Projects
CIFA Member Countries
SI Selector

ABSTRACT

China's inland waters cover approximately 17 million hectares. For aquaculture purposes, they are subdivided into five regions and approximately 2.74 million hectares, mostly in southeast China, have been specially prepared. Almost 28 percent of this area is made up of fish ponds, the rest consist of lakes, reservoirs, rivers and channels. Freshwater fish production totalled 1 115 900 t in 1979. Fish culture accounted for 813 300 t, not counting almost 40 000 million fry. The 20 or so economically significant species are classified in three groups, the most popular of which comprises the four Chinese carps (grass, black, silver and bighead).

Fish culture has developed rapidly over the past 30 years, but especially since 1960, when use of controlled spawning of the Chinese carp became more widespread. The other reasons for this spectacular development are also given. Administrative organization at the central, regional and local levels, as well as the planning process are briefly described. The organization of the three institutes visited in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Wuhan, is described and their subjects of research given.

The different farming systems for producing fry and fingerlings, as well as fish for consumption are described next. The great majority of Chinese carp fry and fingerlings are produced in hatcheries, by means of controlled spawning in ponds or by artificial fertilization. The larvae are either sold or placed in a monospecies nursery pond where they reach 2–3 cm in less than a month. The fry may be transferred to a fingerling pond until they grow to between 12 and 30 cm. For this second stage, either single species or semi-intensive polyculture techniques may be used. It is usually carried out in a pond, but the use of floating cages and fish pens were also observed. Food-fish are produced in ponds using the semi-intensive farming system based on polyculture using organic manure and supplementary feeding. The principles used, the way they are applied and the results obtained are described in detail, while special sections on integrated development, tilapia farming and pond features are also included. The average annual yield in 1979 was 2 750 kg/ha. Harvest of up to 15 t/ha have however been obtained on a small scale.

Extensive fish culture in river and channel pens, in natural lakes and reservoirs is then dealt with on the basis of data collected locally. Average yields in 1978 were 308 135 and 90 kg/ha/year, respectively. In these environments too, fish culture in cages is developing rapidly and both extensive and intensive polyculture of Chinese carps is being practised.

Finally, the distribution and marketing of fry and fish for consumption, as well as two associated industries are briefly described. Conclusions as regards the organization of the study tour and the information it provided for French-speaking Africa and China, form the basis of a series of specific recommendations, geared to encourage future fish culture development in these two regions.

"Give man a fish,
He will eat only once;
Teach him fish culture,
He will eat throughout his life".

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The members of the study tour on Aquaculture Development, who visited China in April/May 1980, wish to express their sincere thanks to the Government of the People's Republic of China, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the United Nations Development Programme, who made this visit possible.

In China, the members had the opportunity of visiting different aquaculture ventures in the municipalities of Beijing and Shanghai, as well as in the provinces of Guangdong, Hubei, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Everywhere and at all levels, they were welcomed with the same warm, cordial hospitality. They were impressed by the excellent organization of the tour, down to the smallest detail.

In particular, the members of the study tour wish to express their deepest gratitude to their many hosts at the National Bureau of Aquatic Products (NBAP) and the Regional Bureaux of Aquatic Products. Special thanks are extended to Mr Xio Fong, Deputy Director of NBAP; Mr Liu Lechuan, Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs of NBAP; Mr Li Renpei, Chief of the International Division FAD/NBAP, our most helpful cicerone and finally, to our tireless interpreters, Mrs Jia Yali and Mr Xi Jingming.

A.G. Coche
Team Leader FAO/HQ
Senior Officer (Aquaculture)
FAO/FIRI, Rome

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
ROME © FAO 1983

Hyperlinks to non-FAO Internet sites do not imply any official endorsement of or responsibility for the opinions, ideas, data or products presented at these locations, or guarantee the validity of the information provided. The sole purpose of links to non-FAO sites is to indicate further information available on related topics.

This electronic document has been scanned using optical character recognition (OCR) software. FAO declines all responsibility for any discrepancies that may exist between the present document and its original printed version.

ABSTRACT

CONTENTS

List of Figures

List of Tables