Vice-Premier Wang Yang ordered a boost to deep-sea fishing, both in regulation, management, and equipment, during a meeting in Beijing on March 30 to mark the sector’s achievements over 30 years.

“We should transform our development mode for deep-sea fishing and accelerate the establishment of a better regulated and equipped deep-sea industry in order to maintain a competitive edge as well as to make our country a powerful player in the sector,” Wang said.

Starting from scratch, the sector has made significant progress over the past three decades in providing a variety of marine products to people, increasing earnings, promoting international agricultural cooperation and communication, boosting agricultural trade and safeguarding maritime rights, Wang said.

The competitiveness of the deep-sea fishing fleet should be enhanced, Wang said, and profits increased in order to build modern institutions to support the fleet backed by science, technology and modern management, and further integrate fishing, processing and logistics.

The deep-sea fishing sector emerged in 1985 when 13 vessels of the China National Fisheries Corp trawled the waters off West Africa. There are now more than 2,000 Chinese vessels working in conjunction with 40 countries in their exclusive economic zones as well as on the high seas in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans.

Wang also called for more focused management and greater safety awareness in the sector to maintain China’s reputation as a responsible participant in deep-sea fishing.