Supplementing Marine Capture Fisheries in the East China Sea: Sea Ranching of Prawn Penaeus orientalis, Restocking of Large Yellow Croaker Pseudosciaena crocea, and Cage Culture

The East China Sea is China's most productive fishing area. Maintaining harvest resulted in two notable sea ranching and restocking programs: the southward translocation of prawn (Penaeus orientalis) to establish a new fishery in Xiangshan Bay, and the release of large yellow croaker (Pseudosciaena crocea) to rebuild depleted populations. Penaeus orientalis were reared and released into Xiangshan Bay from 1986 to 1992. The new habitat supported all life stages, and stocked prawns provided a local put-and-take fishery. Although P. orientalis reproduced naturally, no lasting population was established because of the limited size of the releases and intense fishing pressure. From 2001 to 2006, 2–6 million juvenile P. crocea were released annually in Zhejiang Province, showing that it is feasible to release juvenile P. crocea and that they survive, feed, grow, spawn, and migrate, and are beginning to rebuild the population. Along with extensive fisheries, the East China Sea has thousands of hatcheries and some 1,000,000 aquaculture cages. To expand the industry while avoiding environmental problems associated with near-shore cages, large cages that can withstand storms are being used in deeper, well-flushed waters, resulting in improved product quality.