Is river crab farming profitable? Profit and market prospect analysis

Because scallop farming requires a relatively large economic input, many farmers do not dare to farm them easily, so what is the market prospect of scallop farming? Is it worth farming? Let us look at the following analysis.

Scallops are bivalve mollusks, and their shells are fan-shaped, like a folding fan, hence the name scallop. It is one of the precious marine delicacies and is distributed along the coast of our country. In the past, most were obtained by harvesting natural resources, but in recent years, artificial farming has been developed in coastal areas. The main farmed varieties include the original Zhikong scallop (Chlamys farreri), as well as the Yesso scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis) introduced from Japan and the bay scallop (Argopecten irradians) from the United States. Scallops can generally be harvested throughout the year, but the quality is better in spring.

Scallop shells can be purple-brown, light brown, apricot yellow, red-brown, or grayish white, etc. In the sea, scallops usually attach to rocks, gravel, shells, coral reefs, or other objects by byssus threads, and some live with the lower shell spread flat on the sandy seabed. Their traces can be found from shallow seas below the tide line to deep seas of 5000 meters. They like to live in groups, and individuals are often linked to one another, one after another, and can form natural scallop beds. According to observations, scallops generally take about 3 years from spawning to growing into adult scallops, among which the Yesso scallop grows relatively fast and takes about 19 months, while the fastest-growing bay scallop can be grown and harvested for market in the same year.

It is understood that at present, domestic scallop farming techniques and methods have become increasingly mature and relatively easy to master. Depending on different situations, mainly floating raft farming (including cage culture, tube culture, and ear-hanging culture) and seabed sowing and enhancement are used. According to reports, with the continuous progress of scallop seedling breeding and farming technology, large-scale and industrialized farming has become a reality. Taking the Yesso scallop as an example, since it was introduced from Japan in the early 1980s, after recent years of farming and promotion, artificial seedling breeding and farming technology have matured, and large-scale and industrialized farming has gradually formed in the northern Yellow Sea, among which Changhai County in Dalian has the largest farming scale, creating output value of several billion yuan in the past 10 years and achieving very high economic and social benefits. Therefore, the benefits of developing scallop farming are quite considerable. In some places, the yield per mu has reached 2500 kg to 3000 kg at high levels. Therefore, scallops are a famous and high-quality variety with quite good development prospects.

Scallops have very high economic value and have a well-developed adductor muscle (meat column). In addition to being eaten fresh, in order to preserve freshness and facilitate transportation, most have their adductor muscle removed and frozen before being sold to various places, called frozen scallop adductor or frozen fresh scallop. It is an important cooking ingredient for upper- and mid-grade hotels, restaurants, and eateries, and is now entering urban households. The dried product “dried scallop” made from processed scallop adductor muscle is a precious seafood and one of the eight treasures of seafood. Scallop meat is delicious and nutritious. According to analysis, it is rich in protein, carbohydrates, riboflavin, and various nutrients such as calcium, phosphorus, and iron. Its dried product, dried scallop, has a protein content as high as 61.8%, 3 times that of chicken and beef, and 2 times that of fresh prawns. According to records, scallops also have medicinal effects such as anti-cancer, softening blood vessels, and preventing arteriosclerosis. Its cooking can be done with either dried or fresh products, and both can produce various delicious and precious famous dishes.

The development of scallops in our country already has a certain foundation, with annual output reaching more than 960,000 tons. Taking 2001 as an example, domestic sales were more than 800,000 tons, and exports were more than 100,000 tons, but there is still great development potential. Domestically, in addition to the major coastal large and medium-sized cities as the main sales points, with the acceleration of the large-scale development of the western region, demand for marine delicacies in inland areas will increase substantially. At the same time, after our country's entry into the WTO, the international market will further open up, and scallop exports will also grow greatly. According to expert analysis, in the next 3 to 5 years, domestic demand for scallops will reach 1 million tons, and export volume will reach 500,000 tons, leaving a gap of 500,000 tons from existing output. Scallop prices are relatively good. For example, currently in the Guangzhou market, live fresh scallops in shell are 12 yuan per kg. For dried products and dried scallops, depending on size specifications, retail prices per kg are about 116 yuan, 136 yuan, 156 yuan, 176 yuan, and 216 yuan respectively. Therefore, scallop farming not only has great potential, but also has very broad development space.