Horsehair-like seaweed farming in Dongshan, Fujian leads new development in aquaculture

A technician at Dongshan Huanfa Sea Horse Breeding Company separating female sea horse seedlings.


Dongshan Huanfa Sea Horse Breeding Company has introduced the superior American lined sea horse (Hippocampus erectus) breed for domestication, breeding, trial and cultivation.


Feeding with bait.

 

Sea horse breeding enterprises such as Sanma and Huanfa in Dongshan County, Fujian Province, have used existing onshore abalone ponds and introduced superior breeds of the American great sea horse (Hippocampus ingens) and the lined sea horse (Hippocampus erectus) for domestication, breeding, trial and cultivation. They have overcome technical difficulties concerning water quality, water temperature, light and bait, and have initially formed a model of sea horse seedling cultivation and industrialised grow-out, which is being gradually promoted throughout the county.

The sea horse is known as "Southern ginseng" and is a traditional precious Chinese medicinal material. It is also a valuable medicinal and ornamental fish with relatively high economic value, highly favoured in domestic and international markets, and has good prospects for development. However, sea horses are inherently delicate and difficult to breed artificially, making this one of the challenging problems in international research, with few successful cases in coastal areas.

According to Chen Zhijun of Dongshan Huanfa Aquaculture Company, Dongshan County has now developed 25 sea horse farming households, with about 700 breeding ponds in use. Currently it is the best season for sea horse seedling cultivation; the company produces more than 10,000 seedlings per day, which can be sold as young fry in just over a month. Semi-finished sea horses with a body length of 4-6cm generally have a growth cycle of 6—7 months, and the current market price is 70 yuan each with demand exceeding supply.

Due to the depletion of sea horse resources and soaring prices, the success of onshore industrialised sea horse farming technology is of great significance for advancing the current transformation and upgrading of the marine aquaculture industry and diversifying farming risks. Huang Huiquan