Frozen squid are unloaded from an ocean transport ship in Zhoushan. [Photo/Tide News]

At the Huiqun wharf in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, frozen squid were transferred by six large cranes from three ocean transport ships onto trucks on Feb 19, which then were transported to cold storage nearby.

During the squid harvesting season, the Huijun wharf buzzes with activity as ocean transport ships from Peruvian fishing grounds arrive in succession. These ships, like delivery drivers, ferry various catches from the fishing vessels back to Zhoushan.

Zhoushan, a nationally renowned base for pelagic squid fishing, accounts for over 70 percent of the country's ocean squid catch. The core area of the Zhoushan National Pelagic Fishery Base boasts cold storage capacity exceeding 520,000 metric tons, forming the densest cluster of cold storage facilities in the province.

Not far from the base, the Zhejiang International Agricultural Products Trade Center features a massive data warehouse display screen. Here, the specifications, prices, and quantities of squid from the Southwest Atlantic and Southeast Pacific are clearly visible. The platform also helps connect fishing companies with processing and trade enterprises.

The platform currently supports online transactions for 93 specifications of nine pelagic seafood products, including squid and tuna. All ocean fishing enterprises in Zhoushan are registered on the platform, linking over 750 ocean fishing vessels.

In 2024, Zhoushan's total output for ocean fishing, processing, trade, and production services reached 50.2 billion yuan ($6.91 billion), marking a 13.3 percent increase from the previous year.