Agriculture departments give fishing industry a line of support

Agriculture authorities have helped China's fishing industry resume production after being hit hard by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, a senior official said on Thursday.

Supportive methods have been prioritized for seafood processing enterprises, which will in turn help consume excess production in the fishing industry, said Zhang Xianliang, director of the Bureau of Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

At a news conference by the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council, Zhang said 78 percent of the country's annual aquatic products are in artificial breeding, which has suffered from excess production capacity due to the epidemic.

He said the agriculture department has also helped aquatic breeding companies resume production. "Now, the sector has seen 80 percent of its original capacity recovered," Zhang said.

The effects of China's novel coronavirus outbreak have spread to the country's fishing industry, as many logistics companies are in a shortage of labor and restaurants and supermarkets alike see a sharp decline in customers.

The outbreak coincided with the country's biggest annual holiday, Spring Festival, which usually sees the largest human migration in the world. As the government advised people to stay indoors and prevent the situation from getting worse, many industries, including the fishing industry, have faced the problem of labor shortages.

Zhang said the ministry will urge local fishing departments to give subsidies to fishermen as an incentive to resume their work as soon as possible.