Aquaculture in Sansha Bay, China

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Text, Earth Watch, Exploring the blue planet by satellite. Earth Observatory. Earth Observatory dot nasa dot gov. Operational Land Imager, Landsat 8 satellite. Aquaculture in Sansha Bay, China. April 8, 2017.

 

In the 1980s, overfishing all but eliminated natural stocks of large yellow croaker, a popular fish in many parts of Asia.

 

In response, the Chinese government launched a program to artificially raise large yellow croaker along the shore of Sansha Bay. The East China Sea in the southeastern part of the image with Sansha Bay in the West. Text, In the early 2000s, activity was limited to some cage aquaculture clustered around Qingshan Island and Dong'an Island.

 

Dong'an Island in the northwest and Qingshan Island in the southwest. Text, Nearly two decades on, the waters around Qingshan Island are filled to capacity, and Sansha Bay is one of the world's most concentrated hubs of aquaculture. The lighter-colored areas near the shore are dominated by cage culture setups, where fish are confined by mesh nets or cages.

 

Most of the cages in Sansha bay are used to raise croaker, though the area also produces abalone, octopus and bass.

 

The darker areas are dominated by algae culture, kelp, laver and other seaweeds growing on underwater ropes.

 

In Sansha Bay, algae is labeled in the north west while Fish Cages are labeled in the center of the image. Text, While there was very little seaweed cultivation in the early 2000s, almost every branch of Sansha Bay has extensive seaweed production today. To learn more, go to earth observatory dot nasa dot gov.