22 DECEMBER 2024 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG ASIAN PACIFIC CHAPTER ARTICLE: Sustainable Aquaculture Development in China — A Historical Perspective and Modern Practices China Society of Fisheries China’s fish farming practices have a long history, with records indicating that pond-based fish culture dates back to the Shang Dynasty over 3,000 years ago. Pisciculture, written by the ancient Chinese scholar Fan Li around 460 B.C., is considered as the earliest book on fish farming in the world. The Qingtian rice-fish culture system, the Huzhou mulberry-dyke and fish-pond system in Zhejiang Province, and the rice-fish-duck system in Guizhou Province, among others, are representative examples of China’s integrated fish farming systems. These systems have been included in the list of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) and are recognized as the common property of mankind. China’s Rapid Rise in Aquaculture Aquaculture in China began to speed up after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, and surged after the reform and opening-up policy in 1978, forming a development path with Chinese characteristics. In 2023, the total aquaculture production in China reached 58.10 million tons, accounting for 81.6% of China’s total aquatic product output and around 60% of the world’s total aquaculture production. China has become a major aquaculture producer in the world. Access to Aquatic Products and Increased Consumer Variety The growth of aquaculture production has made fish products easily accessible to the Chinese population. Meanwhile, as the variety of farmed species has expanded significantly over the years, various brand-name, high quality, and local specialty aquatic products have filled the market, providing consumers with a broader range of choices. By 2023, over 300 aquatic species had been farmed in China, and the per capita annual consumption of aquatic products reached 41.2 kilograms, more than twice the world average. Around a quarter of the animal protein consumption in China comes from farmed aquatic products.
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