China province to develop sturgeon aquaculture park

 

 

The government of Zigui County, in the central China province of Hubei, is designing an aquaculture park on land to accommodate sturgeon entering spawning age.

 

Sturgeon farmers in the Three Gorges area of China's Yangtze River are dismantling their fish tanks in order to keep navigation channels safe and clear.

 

According to reports, more than 180 households in Zigui County, in the upper reaches of the Three Gorges Dam, have dismantled 75% of the 7,509 tanks, the basic facility to raise fish in the offshore water areas in the river, over which the dam was built.

 

They are selling or relocating fish stocks, including profitable sturgeons, according to the agricultural bureau of Zigui.

 

The central government issued an order in December 2008 to ban aqua farms around the dam area after finding the business posed a threat to navigation safety and contaminated part of the river.

 

Prices for a certain type of caviar made of sturgeon spawn hit up to RMB14,000 (US$2,050) per kilogramme on the domestic market, about 200 times the price of sturgeon meat, said Liu Wenlong, one of the largest fish raisers in the county.

 

The first stage of the park, to be set up in Maoping Town adjacent to the dam project, will mainly involve pools, covering two hectares, for about 400 tonnes of sturgeon. While the second stage of the park would see the development of caviar production aimed at foreign markets.

 

Further expansion of the project is yet to be decided.

 

Zigui government called upon fish raisers to cooperate with the demolition campaign in May, promising 3,000 yuan in compensation for each tank dismantled before the deadline of October.

 

However, fish farmers could not deal with large amounts of fish stocks within the time limit and the government had to extend the deadline.