The oyster farming industry sets villagers on the road to prosperity

Potang Village, Huguang Town, Mazhang District, Zhanjiang, at Nayu Stream in the Haiwei area of the East Sea, has a coastline 10 km long and is mainly devoted to farming large oysters and prawns. Because the freshwater basin of Nayu Stream flows in, the seawater is moderately salty and fresh, making it especially suitable for oyster growth. Seawater aquaculture has now reached scale, with the whole village's large oyster farming area reaching more than 10,000 mu and prawn farming area more than 6,000 mu. Income from sea farming has become the villagers' main source of livelihood.

Large oysters are rich in elements such as iron, zinc and potassium and are delicious; the oyster also enjoys the reputation of "milk of the sea." This kind of "green food," which relies on the seawater's abundant natural plankton as feed, is increasingly favored by people, and market demand is large. Seedlings are generally put in around May, and after four or five months of growth they can be harvested, with formal supply to the market during the National Day period. Oysters from November to before Spring Festival are the fattest and most delicious. At peak times more than 100 workers work at the same time on shore, sorting oysters and prying them open. Because the local oysters are famous far and wide, buyers from Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Yangjiang and other places come one after another to purchase them locally. Thanks to oyster farming, in recent years many people have built new buildings and set out on the road to prosperity.

Recently, the writer recorded with a lens the delightful scene of harvesting raw oysters. It is now the peak harvest season for large oysters. When we arrived early in the morning at Potang Village's large oyster farming dock, we saw a busy scene at the dock. Boarding a boat, the writer saw villagers busily sorting large oysters. They told the writer that these large oysters were sorted into large, medium and small oysters, and that when sold they were also priced according to the size of the oysters. Because the market prospects for large oysters are broad, oyster prices keep rising all the way.

Village committee member Wu Huaping told the writer that this year's oysters are especially large and prices have risen accordingly. The price of oyster meat is generally 30 yuan per kg, while oysters in the shell are about 6 yuan per kg, roughly 10% higher than last year. According to the introduction, this year Potang Village's oyster output increased by 20% over last year. Oyster farming has brought great changes to the villagers' lives; the old earthen houses have become row upon row of tiled buildings, and those who once rode bicycles now ride motorcycles. "Whether oysters can have a bumper harvest is closely related to their growing environment. The seawater cannot be too salty, nor too fresh. This year's rainfall just met the oysters' growth needs, so they grew especially fat and delicious," Wu Huaping explained.