Skilled Aquaculture Farmer Zhong Zhiming: 30 Years of Tireless Dedication to Aquaculture

In Zhaoxin Village, Baijiao Town, Doumen District, Zhuhai City, a small village famous nationwide for its sea bass, everyone knows the name Zhong Zhiming. Over 30 years devoted to aquaculture, he has gone from an ambitious young man to a successful middle-aged one, not only owning a 200-mu (approximately 13.3-hectare) farm but also dealing in fishery medicines and feed. For years he has devoted himself to studying Baijiao sea bass farming techniques, disease prevention and control, and price trends. He is eager to help others and remains low-key and humble, and many local fellow farmers have received his help, which is why he is so widely respected.

A Standard "365" Model Farming Base

This demonstration pond was built and stocked in June of this year, with a sea bass stocking density of 8,200 fry/mu, 26% higher than surrounding ponds. Over the past six months, the advantages of the 365 model in high-density farming have become evident. Traditional sea bass farming uses the "U-tube" principle, letting water in on the rising tide and draining it on the falling tide, but this can only discharge part of the middle and upper layers of water, while organic matter settles to the bottom of the pond. Especially as feed inputs increase in the later stages of farming, fish diseases occur frequently and farming risks intensify. The bottom discharge system of the demonstration pond can effectively remove harmful substances from the bottom, and combined with algae and bacteria regulation, balanced aeration, and other techniques, it ensures stable water quality.

In Boss Zhong's words, "How fast the fish grow is closely tied to stocking density, scientific management, reasonable feeding, and water quality regulation. Right now I'm controlling the feeding amount in the demonstration pond and plan to harvest around the Spring Festival, with a per-mu yield of no less than 12,000 jin. Through three sampling checks, compared with the control pond, the sea bass in the demonstration pond have a higher fatness and a lower viscerosomatic ratio." Boss Zhong speaks highly of Tongwei: "Haiwei underwent earth-shaking changes after joining Tongwei. Now, whether it's the quality of the feed or the various farming techniques introduced, they give us peace of mind when we use them."

A Preference for the Final Batch of Fish, with a Per-Mu Yield of 22,000 jin

The experienced Boss Zhong has his own considerations when choosing which batch of sea bass to farm. "The first batch of fish has a short farming cycle, fast harvest, and high price, but the feed input and per-mu yield are correspondingly low; the middle batch fetches a low price and is hard to profit from; the final batch requires a great deal of feed and also gets a decent price. At the end of September this year, a 5.5-mu sea bass pond stocked in January 2014 yielded 120,000 jin, about 22,000 jin per mu, and the 5.5-mu pond was fed nearly 100 tons of feed in total. Although farming the final batch brings great financial pressure and risk, the returns are higher. Since I'm a distributor myself, it's also a way of selling what I farm, and 80% of my ponds are used for the final batch."

Observe Diligently, Adjust Water Flexibly

In high-density sea bass farming, ammonia nitrogen and nitrite are the most serious threats. "Observe diligently, adjust water flexibly!" - these seven words are Boss Zhong's summary of his sea bass farming experience. "Service staff from Haiwei come to the demonstration pond every week to test water quality. Normal pH is 7.5-8, ammonia nitrogen no higher than 0.4 mg/l, and nitrite no higher than 0.3 mg/l (no higher than 0.2 in the later stages of farming). When water quality falls short of standard, I first use bottom discharge to release the bottom layer of water, then add fresh water, carry out routine disinfection, observe the water quality, and then apply reasonable algae and bacteria regulation."

Having devoted himself to aquaculture for 30 years, he has witnessed the development of the Baijiao sea bass farming industry and has also left his own brilliant chapter in that history. In the future, he will continue to focus on sea bass farming and continue to write his life's glory!