Marine company restoring ecology of Tangshan seabeds

A decade after the launch of a pilot project to restore the ecology in overexploited offshore seawaters, some local fish species have returned to the coastal area of Tangshan, a major industrial city in Hebei province.

Algae, shellfish and other fish grow abundantly and form a biological chain in the 266 hectares run by Tangshan Marine Ranching Co.

In collaboration with leading domestic ocean research institutes, since 2009 the private company has succeeded in rebuilding the marine ecosystem, transforming the barren seabeds into an "undersea forest" through dropping artificial reefs into the sea, artificial breeding and releasing of fish.

"The biomass in the area with artificial reefs underneath is 30 times that of the neighboring seawaters without reefs," said Zhang Zhenhai, chairman of the company.

"The ecology is in good shape in the piloted area," he said. This condition is in sharp contrast to what Zhang saw in the early 2000s when he planned to develop marine tourism but realized that the worsening offshore environment would only lead to a dead end. Then he decided to restore the environment for sustainable development.

China's maritime industries must put ecological restoration and construction first because the offshore areas in many regions have suffered severe damage due to excessive fishing and pollution, Zhang said.

Through an investment of 150 million yuan ($21.7 million), the coastal fishery at Xiangyun Bay in Tangshan is one of the first group of State-level demonstration zones. Its investment comes from government subsidies, bank loans and the company's funding.

Nearly 200 local villagers have stopped traditional fishing methods due to decreasing resources, and now offer tourists an ocean fishing experience, part of the company's recreational fishery program.

After making a living from fishing for 26 years, Yang Xingwu bought a leisure boat in 2011 and joined the fleet of 19 boats.

"We earned 40,000 to 50,000 yuan a year in the past from fishing, which was a tiring job and sometimes dangerous due to strong winds on the sea," said Yang, 52, from a village along the coast of the Bohai Sea.

Now, Yang helps tourists experience the life of a fisherman. "It is much safer and stable. My annual income has doubled."

Zhang Hongrong, 86, from a fishing village in Laoting county in Tangshan, said that until the 1970s, the Bohai Sea abounded in fish, yet in recent years, some fish became almost extinct due to overfishing and pollution.

"It is really a blessing in my lifetime to see some fish species reappear in the sea," the old fisherman said.

Based on the restoration experiment, Tangshan Marine Ranching plans to plant eelgrass on a preliminary area of around 6.5 hectares and extend the project to 1,300 hectares.

"The rehabilitation of marine ecology needs a big environment," said Zhang, chairman of the company. "After two or three years, the restoration project will show its ecological and economic benefits."