Employees catch the shrimp under the photovoltaic panels. [Photo provided by Chen Yue]

Dengbu Island in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province, recently saw its first harvest of farmed shrimp under a solar-aquaculture project, marking a key test for the "fishery-solar integration" model.

Employees maneuvered boats beneath photovoltaic panels to lift nets, pulling in live white shrimp, a sign that the pilot program is delivering results.

Phase one of the project, operated by Zhoushan Longyuan Xiongya, covers over 73 hectares with 33 ponds. A professional aquaculture team stocked 4 million white shrimp and 80,000 mud crabs using a mixed farming approach. Shrimp have already reached market size, while the crab harvest is expected in October.

From five ponds, about 2,500 kilograms of shrimp have been caught, with each shrimp reaching palm length. The first batches are being shipped directly to markets.

To ensure farming space, the project uses 22.5-meter photovoltaic brackets, more than three times wider than conventional setups. A digital farming system monitors water temperature, oxygen levels, and salinity, improving yields.

Alongside aquaculture, power generation has been progressing. The project was fully connected to the grid in October last year. Since January, output has reached 70 million kilowatt-hours, with an annual forecast of 90 million kWh, equal to cutting 69,100 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Operators plan to expand next year based on lessons from the initial cycle, further refining the fishery-solar model.