6 - Zhou Zude Jiangsufish fish fishh.pdf

fish fish fish

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越南发言稿
Resume of Author
Born in 1963, Mr.Zhang Yongjiang graduated from Ocean University of China
in 1984. Senior researcher and Deputy Director to Jiangsu Fisheries Technical
Extension Station. Since 1997 involved in catfish introduction and promotion. Chief
expert in Jiangsu China for catfish hatching, farming and industrialization. Multi-time
winner of sci-tech awards at provincial and national levels.



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Catfish Farming in Jiangsu Province, China



Jiangsu Province China


A coastal province in eastern China， Jiangsu lies in the lower reaches of the
Yangtze River, which flows across the province and pours into the Pacific near
Shanghai. Historically Jiangsu has been commonly known as a developed
province in China.

Criss-crossed by numerous rivers and lakes that cover 17% of its territory of
100,000 sq. kilometers, Jiangsu has a population of 74 million.

Jiangsu has a coastline that goes for 950 km. However, a large part of its
seashore waters is not suitable for fish culture as when tide comes up and down it
travels on a broad and smoothly inclined tidal lands for 5 to 6 km., for each
meter of tide height it moves 1 km. This is a special geographical phenomenon
caused by settled sediment brought about by the Yangtze River. Consequently
the land gradually grows out into the sea and the tidal lands today will after
some decades be turned into seashore lands.

People in Jiangsu are fish eaters with per capital consumption of fisheries
products about 46 kg. The regular fish supplied in local market are black carp,
grass carp, bighead and silver carp, mostly come from aquaculture. With
constantly improved living conditions consumers seek better and higher priced
fisheries products，such as shrimps, crabs,eels,oysters,etc. Fish introduced from
abroad are acceptable to consumers as well, for example when American catfish

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came to China it went with no hindrance into local eating habits of consuming
live fish.



Catfish Farming

Firstly introduced into Hubei, China in 1984, a province in middle reaches of the
Yangtze River, the fish soon spread to over 20 provinces in the country. Catfish
came to Jiangsu in 1986 and commercial farming had started since 1988. In last
10 years the province had imported 3 lots of Catfish fingerlings directly from the
United States(in tails) - 100,000 in 1997, 200,000 in 1999 and 200,000 in 2004.

a. Hatching and fries supply

Hatching and nursing of fries and fingerlings in mass production have been the
basic factor in Jiangsu for its huge aquaculture industry. From the imported
catfish fries parental fish have been cultured and artificial reproduction has been
going on in a steady way. In general there is no technical problem in this respect.

Taixing is the first in Jiangsu in the farming of catfish. In 2004 a project
“American Catfish Industrialization & Export” was put into practice with the
establishment of 6,000 mu culture ponds, in addition to 20,000 mu ponds nearby
which joined the project. The project has produced catfish of 2,400 tons with an
output value of 90 million yuan.

Early this year in Taixing, with approval from Agricultural Ministry in Beijing, a
national level American catfish stock farm has been set up. Its target output is
3,000 teams of parental fish and 40 million tails of fry per year so that to meet the
demand of production. It is expected that with the establishment of the farm the
problem that catfish breed deterioration may be checked to some extent.

b. Fingerling Culture

Jiangsu is hot in summer and cold in winter with mean temperature at 26 – 29
°C in July and 2 – 4 °C in January. In accordance with the climate
fries of around 2 cm are stocked into ponds in March and fingerling harvest is in
and after September. Feed is of ready-made pallets with balanced nutrients.

c. Farming area and distribution

There are about 80,000 mu of catfish farming currently in the province and all
are located in north part of the Yangtze river.

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It should be pointed out that the late comer Yancheng, a coastal city, is catching
up vigorously in catfish farming.

As mentioned above that the coastal regions have large tracts of seashore lands
and these lands, usually with freshwater resources, can be turned for large-scale
fish farming purpose. Now in Dafeng, Sheyang and Dongtai counties under the
administration of Yancheng there have opened ponds of about 50,000 mu for
catfish farming. The catfish originated from seashore ponds are surely free of
any unwelcome muddy taste. The reason is being studied, some argue that the 2
‰ salinity in culture water may have played a positive role.




Management in farming and processing

American catfish joined China’s aquaculture from a high-end angle. It means
that from the first day it came its farming has been handled by a system that is
the best the locality can provide.

The local as well as the international consumers have become more and more
sensitive to food safety and environment. Under this situation HACCP principles
have for years acquired profound understanding among farmers and authorities
and have been applied to all fish farming activities as an accepted norm.

Common interest has combined farmers and fish authorities and a lot of efforts
including training and seminars have been carried out so far in the following
respects:

a. purchasing or hatching of quality stock for gaining better result in growth
rate, size and conversion rate;
b. to carry out health farming mode to guarantee fish quality;
c. the use of quality pallet feed;
d. strictly controlled application of medicines;

Other quality measures have also been taken into consideration such as farm
licensing system and product label system.


Catfish Association

In Hongze county(called after its lake Hongzehu – one of the 5 largest lakes in
China), there established a catfish aquaculture association(CAA) and it
promulgated a “Catfish Culture Technical Standard”. CAA signed contracts with

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fish farmers to implement a system of “5 Unified Acts” such as unified
production standard, unified application of medicines, unified use of fries and
fingerlings, unified feed supply and unified marketing. It has proved that this is a
good system that is positive to catfish farming.

In other catfish counties there are similar organizations and measures.

However the practice in each county is usually a bit different from the other and
this may pose a problem for catfish production in a larger area than that a
county.

Now catfish has been a nationwide business that happens in so many counties. As
a result all catfish standards must be unified under the pressure of the market
and it is reasonable that there appears in Jiangsu province the need to set up a
trans-county management at provincial level – a provincial catfish association.
Only with the efforts of such an organization standards of culture, processing
and marketing can be handled in an integrated way for each locality in the
province so that the common interest of catfish business can be guaranteed . Now
the establishment of Jiangsu Catfish Association has been raised and
considered.




Local Market

Due to the fact that catfish meat is soft and no bones in muscle it is welcome in
local market.

Commercial farming has started for catfish for nearly two decades and before
2003 most of the production was consumed in the local market by restaurant
industry.


In Sichuan province, for example, catfish has become for long an ingredient for
catering of its well-known spicy hot pot – a power- or coke-heated pot with
boiling water stands on eating table in which eaters themselves put raw meat and
vegetables. In Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province, the restaurants cook a lot
of catfish as well. However, in Jiangsu catfish supply lasts only for several
months in and after September and for most of the year the supply stops. For
business purpose restaurants need live catfish all the year round. Evidently this
is a limit for catfish application and should be solved in the near future.

The prices of regular local fish, for example, grass carp, bighead and silver carp,

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are at around 8 yuan/kg, while catfish at 16 yuan/kg, so it is an important income
growth for the fish farmers, so the local market is important for the catfish ever
since its introduction into China.

Due to the advantages that catfish has already had its market and production
circle has been in control such hatching and nursing of fries, quality feed supply,
intensive farming, higher profit margin and the development of catfish
processing, catfish has become more and more emphasized in the province.

A market promotion project is being considered that public awareness for catfish
be enlarged for the consumers. The activities to be planned include TV teaching
of culinary arts and housewife cooking competition . It is estimated that catfish
will be a regular fish in supermarket aquariums in the foreseeable future.


Conclusion

American catfish has swiftly formed an industry in Jiangsu province and its
performance in the market is strong, despite the fact that its culture area is less
than the 1% of the province’s total .

Jiangsu fisheries, including catfish, is open to foreign counterparts and all those
who are interested in fish activities in Jiangsu Province China are welcome to
come and visit us.