From November 22 to 24, the 5th China Aquatic Seedling Expo and the 2nd Guangdong (International) Modern Marine Ranching Industry Conference were held at the Guangdong International Fisheries High-tech Park in Guangzhou's Nansha, attracting over a thousand domestic and international enterprises.
The award ceremony for the First Guangzhou "Nansha Cup" International Tropical Ornamental Fish Competition was also held at the venue. The competition featured open categories for arawana, betta fish, and ornamental shrimp.
"A total of 20 large red arawanas and over 300 small ornamental fish and shrimp participated in the competition, with some products coming from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and other countries, reflecting the international nature of the event," said a relevant responsible person from the Nansha District Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau.
A special ornamental fish exhibition area was set up at the Expo. More than 200 species of colorful ornamental fish from around the world, including koi, arawana, giant Arapaima, clownfish, and coral, were displayed.
It is worth mentioning that the ornamental fish display area specially invited the direct descendants of the world koi champion, S Legend, for display. To date, S Legend holds the record for the most honors and the highest auction price for a koi.
In addition, the Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute exhibited its scientific research achievement for the first time—nine arawanas, each approximately 60 centimeters long. Luo Liming, the President of the Guangdong Aquarium Association, introduced that arawanas were mostly imported previously, with Malaysia being the main producer.
"In recent years, the Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences has been dedicated to the artificial breeding technology of arawanas and has achieved certain results. The exhibited arawanas are the third generation of breeding," Luo said.
Nansha is the largest tropical ornamental fish seed industry base in China, with 17 ornamental fish breeding units. In 2023, the production of ornamental fish exceeded 40 million pieces, with a production value exceeding 200 million yuan. "The industry is performing well this year. As of now, it is predicted that production in 2024 will increase by 17% compared to the previous year," said a relevant responsible person from the Nansha District Agriculture and Rural Bureau.
Boasting over 20,000,000 square meters of contiguous fish ponds, Nansha is a national agricultural opening-up and cooperation pilot zone. In July 2024, the Guangzhou Government issued the Opinions on Supporting the Construction and Development of the Guangzhou (Nansha) Agricultural Opening-up and Cooperation Pilot Zone, specifically mentioning further facilitating customs clearance and optimizing the import and export processes and procedures for ornamental fish.
