Squid, tuna, and other aquatic products are unloaded to the cold storage area at the Zhoushan National Distant-water Fishing Industry Base. [Photo/WeChat account: china-zjftz]

The total output of the distant-water fishing industry in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province amounted to 251,300 metric tons in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 5.9 percent, local media reported.

The average annual growth rate of the industry's output for the past two years reached 12.6 percent.

Despite the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, the output of squid in Zhoushan surged 20 percent year-on-year in the first six months of the year.

The Zhoushan National Distant-water Fishing Industry Base, a bellwether of the city's distant-water fishing industry, received 214 ships and unloaded 294,500 tons of cargo in the Jan-June period, a year-on-year increase of 59.8 percent.