CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Fisheries, understood as the combined capture and aquaculture industries, are among the oldest economic activities in China. Historical accounts suggest that fish capture and culture have a very long history there, and the Classic of Fish Culture, traditionally attributed to Fan Li, is often cited as one of the earliest known works on fish farming. Modern development began after the founding of the People's Republic of China and accelerated after the reform and opening-up policy of 1978. Since then, fishery policy has been adapted to national conditions and has increasingly encouraged aquaculture and farmer initiative. Over four decades the sector has moved from a low-productivity, small-scale activity to an industry with advanced equipment, a more optimised structure and higher productivity. Liu, Geng, Do, Lv and Du (2024) analysed fishery production and effort from 1980 to 2019. They found a marked shift in seafood production from capture to aquaculture and from offshore to inshore waters. Aquaculture output in 2019 was nearly 38 times that of 1980, and fishery policy had moved from resource exploitation toward ecological conservation.

China now occupies a dominant position in global fisheries. According to FAO (2024), China remained the largest producer of aquatic animals in 2022, with 36 per cent of the world total. It was also the top capture fisheries producer, with 14.3 per cent of world capture output. In the same year, world aquaculture production reached a record 130.9 million tonnes, and aquaculture production of aquatic animals surpassed capture fisheries for the first time. The seven largest aquaculture producers in 2022, including China, were all in Asia. The most recent FAO review reports that global fisheries and aquaculture production reached a record 235 million tonnes in 2024, and that aquaculture produced about 103 million tonnes of aquatic animals, or 53 per cent of aquatic animal production (FAO, 2026). China is also among the top five exporters and importers of aquatic products. These figures show that the state of China's fishery sector has a direct bearing on global food supply and trade, and not only on the domestic economy.

Fishery development in China has been shaped by five-year plans, which set the direction for the sector's growth and modernisation. The Twelfth Five-Year Plan period (2011–2015) was an important one. China's economy was entering what is often called the new normal, in which growth moved from very high speed to medium-to-high speed and the emphasis shifted from scale and pace to quality and efficiency. As part of the national economy and agriculture, fisheries are sensitive to changes in the external environment, so an analysis of the sector's state and trends in this period is useful for understanding its position in world fisheries and for guiding future development. Data from the FAO and the China Fishery Statistical Yearbooks, compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, are the main sources for such an analysis. Observations from this period show that China's aquatic production accounted for more than a third of world production and that aquaculture products accounted for more than 60 per cent of world aquaculture output. In freshwater aquaculture, pond culture was the dominant mode, and fish made up the largest share. In mariculture, shellfish production was proportionately higher than other groups. The output of processed products, particularly frozen products, surimi products and dry-cured products, generally rose. Average annual net income per fisher also grew faster than the economy as a whole, which suggests that the sector contributed to rural livelihoods as well as to output.

Rapid growth, however, has brought problems. These include overcapacity, low-quality aquaculture products, excessive use of resources and environmental pressure. Peng, Mu, Zhu, Chu and Sumaila (2023) describe how Chinese mariculture has moved from an extensive and inefficient stage to an intensive and efficient one, but note that the industry has been characterised by environmental and economic over-farming. N'Souvi, Sun, Che and Vodounon (2024) show a similar pattern in shrimp farming, where output grew by about 120 per cent over two decades but intensification has caused environmental deterioration that must be addressed. Zhou, Fang, Shi, Yang, Xie and Huang (2022) argue that ecosystem-based approaches to mariculture, such as integrated multi-trophic aquaculture, carrying capacity assessment and marine spatial planning, offer a path to more sustainable aquaculture reform. Management has also had mixed results. Liu et al. (2024) found that not all measures worked. The "Dual Control" policy, which limited fishing capacity, failed to achieve its goals, while some reserve policies showed promise.

Recent policy continues the transition toward quality and sustainability. The 14th Five-Year National Fishery Development Plan (2021–2025) set an aquatic product output target of 69 million tonnes and aimed to keep domestic marine fishing output within 10 million tonnes. It also aimed to achieve green and standardised development across aquaculture, fishing, processing, proliferation and leisure fishery, and to raise fishers' incomes (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, 2022). The plan relies more on aquaculture because of limits on capture, including a ten-year fishing ban on the Yangtze, and for the first time included limits on veterinary drug residues in seafood. A trend analysis that links these structural changes to economic performance is therefore timely. This study analyses the evolution of China's fishery sector and its position in the world using FAO and China Fishery Statistical Yearbook data, and it considers the prospects for development in the context of the modern economy.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

China is the world's largest fish producer, and its fishery sector contributes to food supply, employment, rural income and trade. The sector's growth, however, has been accompanied by structural problems. Aquaculture now dominates production, but overcapacity, uneven product quality, resource over-use and environmental degradation threaten its sustainability (Peng et al., 2023; N'Souvi et al., 2024). Capture fisheries are constrained by depleted stocks and by regulatory limits, and some management measures have failed to meet their targets (Liu et al., 2024). At the same time, the sector is exposed to changes in the wider economy and in policy.

Despite the sector's importance, there is a need for a systematic analysis that shows how production, structure, processing and fishers' incomes have changed over time and how these trends relate to economic performance. Without such analysis, policymakers and stakeholders lack a clear basis for judging whether the sector's growth has been balanced and sustainable and for deciding how to reform the development model. This study addresses that need through a trend analysis of China's fishery sector and its economic performance.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The main objective is to analyse the trends in China's fishery sector and its economic performance. The specific objectives are:

1. to examine the trends in total fishery production and the structure of capture and aquaculture production;
2. to analyse the position of China's fishery production in world fisheries and aquaculture;
3. to examine trends in freshwater and marine production, including the regional concentration of catches

1.4 Research Questions

1. What are the trends in total fishery production, and how do capture and aquaculture compare?
2. What share of world fisheries and aquaculture does China account for?
3. How have freshwater and marine production changed, and which provinces account for the largest shares of catches?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

Hypothesis One
H₀: There is no significant upward trend in China's total fishery production over the study period.
H₁: There is a significant upward trend in China's total fishery production over the study period.

Hypothesis Two
H₀: The growth in fishers' average net income is not significantly different from the growth in national economic output over the study period.
H₁: The growth in fishers' average net income is significantly different from the growth in national economic output over the study period.

1.6 Significance of the Study

1. Policymakers will have evidence on production, structural and income trends to guide fishery planning, including the formulation of the next five-year plans.
2. Industry stakeholders, including farmers, processors and traders, will gain a clearer picture of the sector's position and likely direction.
3. Researchers will have a consolidated, data-based account of the sector that can be extended to other periods and countries.
4. International readers will gain insight into a sector that supplies a large share of the world's aquatic food and affects global trade (FAO, 2024, 2026).
5. The findings will support efforts to shift the sector toward quality, efficiency and environmental sustainability (Zhou et al., 2022).

1.7 Scope and Limitations of the Study

Scope. The study analyses trends in China's fishery sector, covering capture and aquaculture, freshwater and marine production, processed products and fishers' incomes. It is based on FAO data and the China Fishery Statistical Yearbooks. The main period covered is the Twelfth Five-Year Plan period (2011–2015), with reference to later FAO figures and to current policy for context.

Limitations.

1. The study depends on secondary data. Statistical categories, definitions and reporting methods may differ between FAO and Chinese sources, which can affect comparability.
2. A five-year period is short for identifying long-term trends, and results should be read alongside longer-term studies such as Liu et al. (2024).
3. Official statistics may not fully capture unreported or informal production.
4. The study focuses on economic and production indicators and does not analyse in detail the ecological impact of fishing and aquaculture.

1.8 Definition of Terms

Fisheries: The combined activities of capturing wild aquatic organisms and farming aquatic species for food and other uses.

Capture fisheries: The harvesting of wild aquatic animals and plants from marine and inland waters.

Aquaculture: The farming of aquatic organisms, including fish, shellfish and algae, under controlled or semi-controlled conditions.

Mariculture: Aquaculture practised in marine waters.

Trend analysis: The examination of data over time to identify patterns of growth, decline or stability.

Five-year plan: A national planning document that sets the objectives and policies of economic and social development for a five-year period.

Net income of fishers: The average annual income per fisher after production costs, as recorded in the China Fishery Statistical Yearbooks.

1.9 Organisation of the Study

Chapter One introduces the study. Chapter Two reviews the literature on fisheries development and economic performance. Chapter Three describes the data sources and the methods of trend analysis. Chapter Four presents and analyses the results. Chapter Five summarises the findings, draws conclusions and makes recommendations.

References

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2024). The state of world fisheries and aquaculture 2024: Blue transformation in action. FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cd0683en

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2026). In brief to the state of world fisheries and aquaculture 2026: Blue transformation: Turning vision into impact. FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cd9841en

Liu, X., Geng, R., Do, T. N., Lv, X., & Du, X. (2024). Transforming China's fisheries: A 40-year journey toward sustainable management (1980–2019). Fishes, 9(9), Article 343. https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes9090343

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People's Republic of China. (2022). 14th five-year national fishery development plan (2021–2025).

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People's Republic of China. (Various years). China fishery statistical yearbook. China Agriculture Press.

N'Souvi, K., Sun, C., Che, B., & Vodounon, A. (2024). Shrimp industry in China: Overview of the trends in the production, imports and exports during the last two decades, challenges, and outlook. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 7, Article 1287034. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1287034

Peng, D., Mu, Y., Zhu, Y., Chu, J., & Sumaila, U. R. (2023). Chinese mariculture development and its sustainability challenges. Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture. https://doi.org/10.1080/23308249.2023.2167515

Zhou, X., Fang, J., Shi, S., Yang, L., Xie, B., & Huang, L. (2022). Ecosystem services of ecosystem approach to mariculture: Providing an unprecedented opportunity for the reform of China's sustainable aquaculture. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, Article 909231. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.909231