Fishermen will harvest 59.06 million tonnes this year, up 5.4 percent year on year, said Zhao Xingwu, head of the Bureau of Fisheries in the Ministry of Agriculture.
He was speaking at a national fisheries work meeting in Beijing.
Aquaculture will yield 43.05 million tonnes this year, up 7 percent year on year and domestic fishing will provide 14.83 million tonnes, almost the same as 2011. Finally, distant fishing will bring in 1.18 million tonnes, up 2.8 percent year on year, Zhao said.
Annual income for fishermen will average at 11,256 yuan per capita in 2012, up 12.4 percent year on year, Zhao said.
Niu Dun, vice minister of agriculture, said the government has been mapping out policies to support fisheries, including 8.01 billion yuan of investment this year to boost fishery infrastructure, Niu said.
This year fishermen have received 1.35 billion yuan in compensation for a number of oil spills that occurred in north China's Bohai Bay from June 2011. This is a historic breakthrough to explore the compensation mechanism on fisheries resources, Niu said.
Oil spills in the Penglai 19-3 oilfield in Bohai Bay have polluted over 6,200 square kilometers of water since June 2011, an area about nine times the size of Singapore. They have hit the aquatic farming industries of Liaoning and Hebei provinces.
China's distant water fleet threat to global stocks
China's growing hunger for seafood is testing relations with other countries and worrying foreign officials and scientists over the potential damage its massive fleet could do to global fishing stocks.
Chinese ships fish in both international waters and under bilateral fisheries agreement in the waters of other nations. They work for largely private firms or for themselves, and aren't generally directed by Beijing.
Official data project that China, the world's largest seafood consumer, is on track to produce more than 60 million tons of seafood by 2015, up from 53.7 million tons two years ago. Some foreign officials question Chinese catch reports and believe total production may be even higher.
Investment bank Rabobank estimates that seafood imports to China -- where consumers have for centuries considered fish beneficial to the brain -- will total $20 billion by the end of the decade from around $8 billion currently.
Beijing has big plans for expanding its fishing armada to feed that appetite, aiming to increase its long-range fishing fleet by 16% by the end of 2015 to about 2,300 ships compared with 2010. By comparison, the U.S. distant-waters fishing fleet totals around 200 ships.
China's fishing vessels are being drawn ever farther afield because overfishing has led to falling production in Asian waters, according to an essay from China's agriculture ministry.
In comparison, the ministry said, the catch from West Africa rose 14% in volume and 41% in value last year from 2010. In Mauritania alone, the catch rose 51% in volume and 66% in value over the period, it said. In Morocco, catch values rose 50% despite a smaller volume due to a shortened fishing season.
Peru, a major source of seafood for China, has slashed its global fishing quota for anchovy during the Nov. 22-Jan. 31 season by 68% to a 25-year lowbecause of depleted stocks. Anchovy is processed into fishmeal, of which Peru is the largest exporter and China the main buyer.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Although Germany’s tuna imports have declined, Vietnam’s tuna exports to the market continue to show positive signs. Notably, export value recovered strongly in Q3/2026, and German import data also show Vietnamese products strengthening their position amid competition among suppliers.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Seafood exports are holding double-digit growth, but the opportunities are not spread evenly across product groups and markets. As businesses draw up their plans for 2027, Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026 (VSS2026) offers a chance to look ahead together: what to sell, where to sell it, and how to prepare for growth in the coming years.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) With less than two weeks to go, the Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026 (VSS 2026) will officially take place in Can Tho. Under the theme “Seafood Market Outlook 2027–2029 – Opportunities and Potential for Double-Digit Export Growth,” the Summit is organized by VASEP at a time when seafood businesses are facing rapid market shifts, changing buyer demand, trade policy changes and growing competitive pressure all at once.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On October 28, 2026, the China Fisheries & Seafood Expo opened in Qingdao, China. The expo takes place over three days from October 28 to 30, 2026. This is a prestigious specialized seafood exhibition organized annually by Sea Fare Exposition Inc.
(vasep.com.vn) In the first nine months of 2026, Vietnam’s tilapia exports to the CPTPP bloc reached $7 million, marking a 51% year-on-year increase. The bloc rstands as the fourth-largest market for Vietnamese tilapia, trailing Brazil, the US, and Saudi Arabia.
(vasep.com.vn) VASEP has officially announced the program for Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026 (VSS 2026), featuring five in-depth sessions covering industry outlooks, trade barriers, buyer demand, the domestic market, and solutions to improve productivity and reduce costs across the seafood value chain.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s shrimp exports reached US$3.7 billion in the first nine months of 2026, up 11% year on year. Although growth has been supported by China and several markets within the CPTPP, momentum is slowing as exports to the United States and the European Union decline. Tariff pressures, international competition, and raw material challenges are creating significant hurdles for exporters in the final months of the year.
(vasep.com.vn) Markets are changing faster, buyer requirements are becoming more demanding, and trade barriers are growing increasingly complex. In this environment, seafood businesses need more than an understanding of current market conditions. They need a longer-term perspective to answer a critical question: Where will growth opportunities come from in 2027–2029, and what should businesses do now to prepare? This is one of the key reasons why VASEP is organizing Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026.
(vasep.com.vn) In the first eight months of 2026, Vietnam’s pangasius exports to the Middle East reached US$113 million, up 7% year on year from the same period in 2025. Growth has become more pronounced in recent months. In August alone, exports to the region totaled US$20 million, an increase of 24%. This indicates that demand for Vietnamese pangasius in the Middle East is gradually recovering after a slowdown in March, although the pace of recovery varies across markets.
(vasep.com.vn) China’s shrimp imports continued to grow strongly in 2026, while Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the market also recorded notable growth. However, behind these positive figures lie two distinct trends: Chinese consumption is growing more slowly than imports, and lobster accounts for a substantial share of Vietnam’s shrimp exports to China, making its product mix significantly different from those of Ecuador and India. Exporters therefore need to assess each segment carefully to understand the opportunities and risks.
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