February 13, 2007

China's largest eel hatchery launched in Guangdong, Shunde

China's largest eel hatchery has come online in Shunde, Guangdong. The hatchery, run by China's Shunde Dafeng Aquaculture Breeding Co, came about after years in development.

China's Guangdong province has become the largest eel production base and export centre in the world, with Shunde's eel farms playing a critical role in the province's eel production.

Shunde Dafeng chose Le Liu in Shunde as the site for its hatchery due to its central location in a region where eel rearing is already well-established.

Initial investment was at RMB 20 million (US$2.58 million), with breeding area at 43,000 square metres. Annual production capacity is estimated at 25 million to 30 million eels. The second stage of the project, in which the area would be expanded to 65,000 square metres, is scheduled to be completed within 2007.

The location's clean water resources, coupled with the fact that the hatchery would be managed by a leading aquaculture company, meant that a constant supply of high quality and safe fry from the hatchery is assured, analysts said.  

As an important eel breeding base of Guangdong Province, Shunde boasts more than 20 thousand mu (13.3 million square metres) of eel cultivating ponds and needs to purchase about 50-60 million eel fries for cultivation each year.

In a bid to smooth away the problems of eel fry breeding, the city joined hands with a fishery corporation in Nantong, Jiangsu Province to set up an eel fry cultivating base covering a total area of 23,000 square metres, including 138 cultivating ponds.