Recent data from the 2023 Sichuan Fisheries Economic Statistics Overview highlights remarkable achievements in Sichuan's facility fishery sector: In 2023, the province boasts 3,942 facility fisheries, with a total aquaculture output of 18,400 tons and a capacity of 1,235,300 cubic meters. These figures represent year-on-year increases of 69.26 percent, 31.34 percent, and 30.73 percent, respectively.

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the vast potential of facility agriculture, pointing out the need to develop solar greenhouses, plant factories, and intensive livestock and poultry farming, progress land-based, deep-sea, and far-sea aquaculture farms, and expand the scope of agricultural production.

Facility fishery is a crucial component of facility agriculture. The provincial Party committee and provincial government have released the Action Plan for Building a Higher-Level "Granary of Heaven" in the New Era, which calls for developing food resources on all fronts and through multiple ways, fully implementing the all-encompassing approach to food and taking steady steps to advance facility fishery.

Sichuan, a forerunner in aquaculture in western China, leads in the cultivation output of 17 species in the region and stands seventh nationwide in terms of total aquatic product yield. To drive the transformation and upgrading of its modern fishery industry, Sichuan has intensified efforts to develop facility fishery in recent years and fostered high-quality development in the aquaculture sector.

Despite a late start, Sichuan's facility fishery boasts clear advantages in its development foundation.

At the Sichuan Zhengda Fishery Co., Ltd. aquaculture facility in Gongyi Town, Pengshan District, Meishan City, the water temperature in the ponds for cultivating Pacific white shrimp, tilapia, bass and giant river prawn is meticulously regulated to around 28 degrees Celsius, despite the outdoor temperature soaring close to 40 degrees Celsius.

Facility fishery denotes a highly intensive and densely populated aquaculture sector. It employs a range of technological approaches to create optimal water and environmental conditions on land or at sea for fish growth and breeding. By bringing fish farming under artificial control, it aims to achieve stable and high yields throughout the year.

"In short, it is like raising fish and shrimp in a factory," explained Zhang Hongchun, the head of Zhengda Fishery. Six years ago, Zhang was among the pioneers in Sichuan to embark on facility fishery farming. Having amassed a wealth of aquaculture expertise, Zhang Hongchun astutely observed that this more eco-friendly and high-productive farming approach was set to supplant traditional pond-based aquaculture. Consequently, the company transitioned gradually into a facility fishery technical service provider. Since last year, Zhang Hongchun has noticed a significant rise in the number of clients, both within and beyond the province.

"Overall, Sichuan's facility fishery is still in its nascent stages compared to major aquaculture provinces like Guangdong and Hubei," according to a leading official from the Sichuan Provincial Aquatic Products Bureau. Despite its late start, Sichuan's facility fishery boasts clear advantages in its development foundation, the official added.

The advantages are first evident in the market demand. "According to our initial research, a considerable percentage of the aquatic products in Chengdu's large-scale wholesale markets are sourced from outside the province, highlighting a significant supply shortfall for local products," said a relevant leading official from the Science and Technology Promotion Division of the Provincial Aquatic Products Bureau. The official further noted that amid efforts to protect resources and the environment, as well as conserve farmland, the growth potential for traditional aquaculture methods, such as pond-based farming and large water surface cultivation, is constrained, with the farming area shrinking annually. Concurrently, facility fishery, with its manageable environment and capacity for consistent and high outputs, has emerged as a viable solution to bridge the supply gap and guarantee a steady provision of aquatic products.

The higher comprehensive benefits represent an additional key advantage in developing facility fishery. Data calculation reveals that Sichuan's facility fisheries produce 13.6 times more per unit of water body than pond aquaculture and require 33.8 percent less labor input, resulting in an average profit margin of 19 percent higher for facility fisheries. "We have calculated that every 1,000 cubic meters of aquaculture water body constructed demands an initial investment of three to four million yuan, with costs recovered in three to five years on average," stated Zhang Hongchun.

Despite challenges, Sichuan's facility fishery sees a bright and vast future.

Sichuan's facility fisheries are making swift progress, yet the initial phase confronts several difficulties and challenges.

"High investment costs are a crucial challenge we need to overcome," noted Song Zhiwen, who invested two million yuan in 2020 to set up a facility fishery base for bass cultivation in Feixianguan Town, Lushan County, Ya'an City. "Besides the substantial initial investment, there are also significant operational costs," Song informed the reporter. For facility fisheries, maintaining healthy circulating water quality is vital. This year, Song's base introduced new aquaculture equipment, and electricity expenses have already topped 70,000 yuan.

Land availability also poses a major hurdle to the expansion of facility fisheries in Sichuan. During interviews, many aquaculture operators have voiced concerns about the limited land quotas for facility fisheries and the challenges in securing land use approvals. These challenges have led some owners to refrain from scaling up their operations due to existing land use-related issues in facility fisheries.

"Additionally, facility fisheries in Sichuan receive relatively limited policy subsidies and other support," stated the leading official from the Science and Technology Promotion Division at the Provincial Aquatic Products Bureau. As of now, many technically advanced and widely applicable facilities in modern facility fisheries, including new-type aquaculture systems, tailwater treatment facilities, production auxiliary facilities, and intelligent control mechanisms, are not covered under fishery machinery subsidy programs, according to the official. Sichuan's fishery policy insurance currently lacks established standards for facility fisheries to participate. Additionally, commercial insurance has not yet expanded its coverage to include this sector.

These issues faced by Sichuan's facility fisheries have captured the attention of relevant authorities and are pending further coordination for resolution. Amidst challenges ahead, a relevant leading official from the Provincial Aquatic Products Bureau maintains a positive outlook on the future of facility fisheries, recognizing this sector as crucial for ensuring a stable and secure supply of aquatic products in Sichuan and an important direction for propelling the transformation and upgrading of modern fisheries.

At the start of 2024, Sichuan Province released the Key Points for Provincial Aquaculture Work in 2024 (referred to as the Key Points), which emphasized the development of facility fisheries as a primary focus. The Key Points clearly state support for the construction of facility fisheries, including land-based recirculating aquaculture, pond-based engineering recirculating aquaculture, factory-based recirculating aquaculture, enclosure culture, fish-rice (vegetable) co-cultivation, and fishery-PV integration. It also targets an increase of over 100,000 cubic meters in facility fisheries. The Key Points outline initiatives to enhance the application of technologies, including online water quality monitoring, intelligent oxygenation, precision feeding, and disease prevention and control, boost the informatization of aquaculture, and speed up the industry's transition towards digital and intelligent operations.

This year, Sichuan has expanded its project subsidy program to include facility fisheries run by emerging business entities, such as farmers' cooperatives and family farms. Furthermore, subsidies now cover facilities and equipment for the treatment of tailwater in facility fisheries. "In the next phase, we will actively pursue central and provincial financial support, agricultural machinery subsidies, and other policy backing. Concurrently, we will advance land-based recirculating water and in-pond raceway aquaculture models, direct the utilization of idle vegetable greenhouses, industrial park factories, and village collective idle assets that comply with facility land policies for the growth of factory-based recirculating aquaculture, and broaden the development scope of facility fisheries through multiple channels. Ultimately, we aim to consolidate a range of modern facility fishery aquaculture technologies, pilot several modern facility fishery demonstration projects, and comprehensively enhance the quality, profitability and competitiveness of the province's facility fisheries," declared the leading official from the Provincial Aquatic Products Bureau.