Xinjiang fishery helps meet growing demand for seafood(3)

More than 5,000 grouper have been raised at the base. (Photo by Zhang Wei/China Daily)

Shu Miao'an, an aquaculture expert from Zhejiang University, said the saline-alkali water there lacks certain trace elements, which are supplemented as needed. The cost of adding these elements — mainly calcium, magnesium and potassium ions — is not high.

"Xinjiang's saline-alkali land has a composition different from other saline-alkali lands," he said.

He added the main focus is expanding the scale of breeding. Now they mainly sell in Aksu area.

"The goal is for Xinjiang to become a significant region for future seafood aquaculture. Xinjiang has great development prospects in this regard," he said.

Though far from the ocean, Xinjiang's locally produced seafood is gaining traction, with many areas developing the industry.

The town is located at the northwestern edge of the Taklimakan Desert. There are 286 hectares of saline-alkali waters that belong to a national protected area.

Last year, the town started developing aquaculture in salinealkali water. They experimented with farming tilapia, perch and prawn.

Currently, there are six aquatic farming cooperatives and enterprises. They have already released 414,000 fish of eight species, 305,000 green crabs and 4.8 million South American white shrimp, with 15 tons of shrimp already on the market.