Over-fishing and pollution are killing the fishing industry in the East China Sea, according to the Shanghai Daily. The problem is hardly unique to China, of course.
However, what is unique to China is it already has the solution, in the form of an extensive aquaculture industry.
Indeed, one of the remedies proposed for China's underemployed fishermen is to retrain them for jobs in aquaculture.
China has a long history of aquaculture -- and not just for carp. Almost two out of every three fish produced in China are now farmed rather than caught.
The aquaculture industry, which was largely initially located in coastal areas and on the Yangtse and Zhujiang rivers, has spread to many regions of the country. The number of varieties of seawater aquaculture has also increased dramatically from traditional molluscs and algae to shrimp, molluscs, fish and other more valuable aquaculture products.
But China's aquaculture industry also has some big problems, according to a recent report produced by Canadian Embassy in Beijing. So, this is an area where western technology and expertise could really help.
For example, quality remains a big issue. As well as disease problems and breed degeneration, Chinese fish farms are often lax in their control of medications and harmful residues. That scares consumers away and depresses the industry's export potential, particularly in markets like the EU and Japan.
The processing side is also underdeveloped. Most processing enterprises do not have advanced processing technology and equipment. Except for eels and prawns, other products are still at a low level of processing and modern information systems are conspicuous by their absence.
A more general problem, hardly unique to aquaculture, is poor management practices In many places, production is too concentrated, which not only affects the quality of fish but harms the environment.
Fish farming often gets a bad press from environmentalists. But according to the United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organisation, aquaculture can make an important contribution to reducing poverty and improving food security in an era when the fish supplied from the fisheries of most countries is expected to decline.
