THE China Society of Fisheries has recently issued an announcement on the release of three group standards, which include the technical standards for coral reef construction in marine ranches, written by the Shenzhen Institute of Guangdong Ocean University.

This marks the first time that coral reefs have been included in the technical standards for marine ranch construction in China, Shenzhen Economic Daily reported yesterday.

Coral reefs are underwater ecosystems and are often called the “tropical rainforests of the ocean” for its astounding abundant life. Coral reefs are mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical shallow waters.

Despite covering less than 0.25 percent of the ocean floor, coral reefs host more than a quarter of marine organisms that live in them.

As a national pilot area for marine conservation, Dapeng New Area began exploring the artificial cultivation of coral reefs to restore the marine environment in 2012. So far, Dapeng has planted more than 60,000 corals and the restoration area has reached five hectares.

“In the areas where we planted coral reefs, the coverage of coral reefs increased by 5 percent on average,” a researcher with the Shenzhen Institute of Guangdong Ocean University told the Daily.

The institute said it has mastered six kinds of artificial coral planting methods at present, and the coral survival rate can reach more than 75 percent.

According to the institute’s researcher, a standard land-based coral reef marine ranch covers an area of about 10 mu (about 1.6 acres), which can generate a yearly income of at least 4 million yuan (US$616,400). In the future, it can also develop tertiary industries such as snorkeling and popular science tourism.

The researcher added that different from fish shelters, coral reefs provide food sources and breeding grounds for fishery resources. It is expected that the marine ranches in Guangdong and Hainan provinces will attach high importance to coral reef construction.

Data showed that 110 State-level marine ranch demonstration areas had been built in China as of August 2020.

The Dapeng Bay marine ranch demonstration area, which was approved by the State in December 2018, is the first State-level marine ranch demonstration area in Shenzhen and the first marine ranch focusing on coral reef conservation in China.

(Zhang Yu)