Nansha opens GZ's first academician work station on fisheries

The plaque unveiling ceremony for the academician work station led by Liu Shaojun and the Guangzhou Nansha Aquatic Seed Industry Innovation Center. [Photo/gznsnews.com.cn]

The plaque unveiling ceremony for the academician work station led by Liu Shaojun and the Guangzhou Nansha Aquatic Seed Industry Innovation Center was held in Nansha district on Aug 28.

An academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Liu is an outstanding expert in fish genetic breeding. The academician work station is the only work station led by Liu and the first of its kind in Guangzhou on fisheries.

The innovation center was established with the joint efforts of Guangzhou Chengyi Aquatic Technology Co Ltd, Nansha Agriculture Corporation, and the team led by Liu. Covering an overall area of around 1,000 mu (66.67 hectares), the center mainly features fish germplasm preservation, germplasm innovation, as well as the breeding and supply of fish seedlings.

After it begins operations, the center is expected to cultivate 40 billion aquatic seeds, such as grass carp, carp, blue crabs, and sugpo prawns, becoming the largest aquatic breeding base in China. The annual income of the center after reaching design capacity is projected to amount to 508 million yuan ($74.26 million).

"Nansha enjoys advantages in climate as the temperature here is moderately high. Also, Nansha has excellent conditions and supportive policies for conducting scientific research and industrialization," said Liu.

"Guangzhou has always been the frontier for China's scientific research on aquatic sciences and setting up the academician work station here can increase the innovation ability of academicians in fisheries around China," said Jiang Kaiyong, an official from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. 

Zhu Zuoyan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that the establishment of the work station and the innovation center in Nansha will make contributions to the clustering of advantageous technologies and talents in the area, as well as inject strong vitality into the overall upgrading of the aquatic seeds industry.