Aquatic product output up 3.4% in the first half of the year, with standout highlights in distant-water fisheries

Beijing, August 4 (Reporter Qiao Jinliang) From the Ministry of Agriculture: In the first half of this year, fishery production nationwide developed steadily, with an adequate supply of aquatic products. According to statistics from 20 major fishery-producing provinces nationwide, from January to June the national aquatic product output reached 26.1638 million tons, up 3.4% year-on-year.

Statistics show that the aquaculture area was 7.6298 million hectares, up 3.81% from the same period last year. Of this, the marine aquaculture area was 1.5957 million hectares, and the freshwater aquaculture area was 6.3250 million hectares. According to a separate survey, highlights in distant-water fishery development were prominent: total output in the first quarter was 476,600 tons, up 64% year-on-year, and the benefits of the 329 distant-water fishing vessels newly put into operation last year have begun to emerge.

According to statistics on transactions at 47 comparable aquatic product wholesale markets, in the first half of the year the volume of aquatic product transactions was 3.5953 million tons, with a transaction value of 78.704 billion yuan. In the first half of this year, the aquatic product market was basically stable. Although under the impact of downward economic pressure, sales of famous, special and high-quality products decreased and prices fell, transactions in bulk varieties remained active, and both purchasing and sales in the overall market were brisk.