A significant milestone in China's deep-sea aquaculture was reached on Nov 15 with the official delivery and operation of the 150,000-metric-ton smart fishery vessel, Guoxin No 1 2-2, in the Qingdao West Coast New Area (Qingdao WCNA). The massive ship has been named Lu Ji Yu Yang 60618.

At 244.9 meters in length, the vessel has a displacement of 150,000 tons and holds a massive aquaculture volume of nearly 100,000 cubic meters. It is equipped with 15 standard breeding cabins, in addition to multiple circular racetrack pools and experimental culture tanks.

The vessel incorporates four critically upgraded systems: automated feeding, processing, deep-sea water intake, and fish harvesting. It is expected to be the first industrial ship to conduct year-round, continuous aquaculture trials for salmon and trout species.

This project establishes a new land-sea integrated development model covering the entire supply chain, from seed breeding and production to deep processing and branding. By providing farmed fish and large-scale seedling supply capacity, this vessel is expected to address a gap in China's salmon and trout industry, driving significant industrial transformation and upgrading.

An aerial view photograph of the 150,000-ton smart fishery large-scale aquaculture vessel. [Photo/IC]