Salmon on the go: China's roaming fish farm nets its first catch

QINGDAO, May 13 (Xinhua) -- A 150,000-tonne Chinese smart aquaculture vessel reeled in its first batch of 3,000 Atlantic salmon on Monday, marking the world's first commercial-scale production of salmonids onboard a mobile fish farm.

The harvest represents a major boost for China's offshore fish farming ambitions, the Science and Technology Daily has reported.

Operated by the Qingdao Conson Development (Group) Co., Ltd. from east China's Shandong Province, the vessel Guoxin No.1 2-2's "swimming" aquaculture model has now cruised more than 4,000 nautical miles across China's seas to deliver 12 tonnes of sashimi-grade salmon -- from ocean to table in as little as 24 hours.

China consumes more than 200,000 tonnes of salmon a year, with less than 30 percent self-sufficiency. High-quality Atlantic salmon has long relied on imports -- a costly, slow and freshness-compromising supply chain.

Over the decades, many coastal farming trials in China have failed, mostly due to temperature. Surface water soars in summer, turning cold-water fish into "heatstroke" victims. Typhoons, red tides and pollution add deadly threats.

"Now, our own ocean farms can produce high-quality salmon too," said Meng Guangwei, technical and operations director of the Guoxin No.1 2-2, adding that the breakthrough onboard the ship offers a stable, controllable and fully traceable supply chain for domestically produced premium salmon.

The ship was officially delivered on Nov. 15, 2025, with one core mission to achieve year-round, continuous onboard farming of Atlantic salmon and other salmonids.

Later that month, the first batch of Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout fry was transferred into the ship's tanks in the waters off Shandong Province using a "land-sea relay" model, in which fish are first raised on land before finishing at sea.

Since then, the "mobile ocean pasture" has been on the move.

To keep water temperatures between 10 and 16 degrees Celsius -- a strict requirement for Atlantic salmon, the vessel migrated south from the Bohai Sea to the East China Sea in late 2025 for winter, then returned north to the Yellow and Bohai seas in early spring 2026.

This "swimming" model allows the ship to avoid typhoons, red tides and other natural disasters while staying within the optimum temperature range year-round.

The vessel has 15 standard farming tanks, with each tank holding more than 6,000 cubic meters of water, equivalent to two to three standard swimming pools.

A deep-layer water intake system, the first of its kind in China, draws cold seawater from 30 to 50 meters below the surface, where the temperature naturally remains within the required standard range.

Thousands of sensors enable 24-hour monitoring of water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and fish health. An intelligent feeding system provides precise, scheduled feeding around the clock, replacing traditional manual methods.

After nearly six months of care, the results have exceeded expectations. The salmon achieved a survival rate of 97.5 percent, far above conventional net-pen farming, according to the company.

The fish also grew faster than in traditional methods. The harvested salmon averaged over 4 kilograms and about 0.6 meters in length, with the largest individuals exceeding 6 kilograms.

The fish are tested and found safe to eat raw, with quality notably superior to that of conventionally farmed salmon.

Unlike imported salmon, which often spends weeks in cross-border cold chain logistics, the Guoxin No.1 2-2 compresses the journey from deep-sea harvest to Chinese dinner tables to just 24 to 36 hours.

Qingdao Conson Development (Group) Co., Ltd. has spent nearly a decade turning mobile fish farming into a commercial reality.

The journey was not without challenges. Meng has sailed north and south for six months, watching the tiny fry grow into fatty, beautifully marbled adults. "We guarded them day and night," he said.

The "swimming" aquaculture model breaks down the barriers of geography and seasons, but unexpected hurdles such as storms, temperature swings and unfamiliar rearing techniques arose.

The hands-on experience of Meng and his colleagues has yielded a precious trove of technical data and operational know-how for China's shipboard salmon farming.