A national panel discussion on the standardized management of pelagic fishery is held in Putuo district, Zhoushan, on Oct 12. [Photo/epaper.zhoushan.cn]

"Standardized management must be in place for the sound and sustained development of China's pelagic fishery," said Yu Kangzhen, vice minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China. 

"Companies and governments must enhance their standardized management to realize the transformation and upgrading of the nation's pelagic fishery industry, and thus strengthen the overall capacity of the sector." 

Yu made the remarks at a national panel discussion held in Putuo district, Zhoushan, on Oct 12. 

Nearly 500 national and provincial level officials as well as industry and company representatives convened to discuss standardized management within the nation's pelagic fishery industry. 

Yu commented on the fact that despite the pelagic fishery industry in China having seen remarkable progress in recent years, it is still faced with some notable problems. 

"All regions and areas must try best to address the poor risk tolerance, insufficient awareness of laws and safety, and low qualities of crews in the current pelagic fishery companies," Yu said. 

Peng Jiaxue, vice governor of Zhejiang province, also stressed the importance of standardized management in developing the pelagic fishery industry, promising that they would learn from the experience of neighboring provinces and push forward the province's pelagic fishery industry to a higher level. 

Zhan Wei, deputy general manager of Zhejiang Ocean Family Co, a company based in Zhoushan, showed at the meeting an online pelagic fishery smart management system that they had developed.

"With the development of the internet, satellite communications, and marine big data, companies must leverage their advanced technologies to drive the in-depth and smart management of the pelagic fishery industry," said Zhan.

Zhoushan seemed a natural place to have such a meeting, with it boasting 35 pelagic fishery companies, the most among all the cities in China, and its 544 pelagic fishing vessels accounting for 20 percent of the nation's total pelagic fishing vessels.

Moreover, its annual fish harvest takes up 22 percent of the nation's total harvest, at approximately 420,000 metric tons, among which the squid harvest reaches 320,000 tons, more than 60 percent of the nation's total squid harvest.