Boasting a raft of lakes and rivers such as Dazong Lake, Zhongbao town – located in Xinghua city, East China's Jiangsu province – has switched direction to promote the integration of its fishing and tourism sectors.
It's a move that is expected to eventually boost local aquatic products which will fetch higher prices.
In the wake of the ecological protection projects for its lakes and rivers, Zhongbao town is now home to a gamut of aquatic products including crabs and fish.
But the locally caught silver carp and blue carp are sold to merchants for only 10 yuan ($1.38) or so per kilogram on average. That compares with almost the same quality of silver carp from Tianmu Lake in Liyang city, which are sold for hundreds of yuan.
Learning from the experience of Tianmu Lake, Zhongbao town launched a 3A creation project for its Dazhong Lake scenic area and met with success when the area received the appellation by the end of last year.
The town has also established the Zhongbao Town Fishery Alliance to develop aquaculture, connecting over 30,000 mu (2,000 hectares) of fishponds.
What's more, the alliance has established a purchase and sales partnership with Xinghua Daze Aquatic Products Co Ltd, which will purchase the fish and expand the fish processing chain.
In addition, by working with another company – Kerisom Food Biotechnology Enterprise Limited – fish from Dazong Lake now can be exported to more consumers worldwide.
Fish are brought in on Dazong Lake. [Photo/tznews.cn]