Genghai No 1, the country's first integrated intelligent large-scale ecological marine ranch complex paves the way for the advancement of modern marine ranching in China. [Photo/Jiaodong News]

Genghai No 1, the country's first integrated intelligent large-scale ecological marine ranch complex has paved the way for the advancement of modern marine ranching in China.

Located off the coast of Yantai in Shandong province, the complex is capable of fisheries farming, smart fishing, recreational fishing, scientific research and education. It has a smart fishing area and a starfish-shaped main deck.

The fishing area, designed to look like petals, contains three large circular net cages each with a diameter of 40 meters. These cages have a farming volume of approximately 10,000 cubic meters each.

Wang Guanlei, a spokesperson of Shandong Ocean Harvest Corp, said: "The cages in the fishing area can cultivate about 200,000 high-quality marine fish per year and have an annual production volume of about 150,000 kilograms." 

The fishing area is equipped with systems for automatic feeding, environmental monitoring, ship collision prevention, as well as sophisticated equipment such as unmanned ships and underwater inspection robots. 

In the middle section, an ecological farming fence surrounds a water body of 400,000 cubic meters, which after netting will become the largest single breeding water body in China. It can be used to raise fish, shrimp, shellfish and algae in natural seawater.

The main deck features seven stories and a total indoor space of 10,000 square meters. Here, visitors can view interactive tech projects such as the deep-sea elevator and enjoy food and coffee.

Solar power and wind power generation systems can meet the platform's daily electricity needs. The anti-fouling treatment system, similar to that of China's Great Wall station in the Antarctica, transports treated wastewater and wastes to a designated land terminal for centralized treatment.