Abalones arrive home in Fujian from Shandong for winter

A ship loaded with abalones arrives in Lianjiang county, southeast China's Fujian Province.  

Recently, 300,000 cages of abalones were brought back to their hometown in Lianjiang county, southeast China's Fujian Province, from east China's Shandong Province.

Abalone breeding has strict requirements for water temperature, water quality, and sea environment. To enhance the survival rate of abalones and increase breeding space, Lianjiang has implemented a breeding strategy where abalones are sent to Shandong in April to escape the summer heat and brought back in November for the winter.

Workers transfer abalone breeding cages at a fishing port in Lianjiang county, southeast China's Fujian Province.  

On Nov. 12, the Tailu fishing port in Lianjiang was bustling with activity as 30,000 cages of abalones from Fujian Zhongxin Yongfeng Industrial Co., Ltd. arrived by ship from Rongcheng city in Shandong. Workers unloaded the abalone cages from the ship and transferred them to a smaller vessel. The abalones were then taken to a nearby ocean farm where they will be raised during the winter.

Workers transfer abalone breeding cages at a fishing port in Lianjiang county, southeast China's Fujian Province. 

According to Wu Zhangyu from the company, after six months in Shandong, the abalones have grown significantly larger and their survival rate has greatly improved.

"Previously, abalones bred in one cage weighed around 6 kilograms. After being cultivated in Shandong this summer, the weight has reached 10 kilograms, and the survival rate has exceeded 70 percent," said a local fisherman named Huang Shuiguan.

The abalones will be transported to a breeding farm in Lianjiang, southeast China's Fujian Province. 

Thanks to this breeding strategy, the abalones can grow year-round, reducing the breeding cycle and increasing production within the same timeframe.

A worker feeds abalones. (File photo)

Lianjiang is a major abalone breeding hub in the country. In 2023, the abalone breeding area in the county totaled 1,530 hectares and the abalone output reached 56,600 tonnes, accounting for about one third of the national total. In the same year, the output value of the abalone breeding industry in the county reached 4.75 billion yuan (about $655 million).

Photos by Wu Dan and Lin Liuming.