Labor Shortages, High Density and Small Size, Plague Shandong Scallop Harvest
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [xinhua] Translated by Amy Zhong December 1, 2016
Too high density has cut the scallop sizes in some areas of Shandong Province. Wu, one local farmer, cultivates 50 thousand cages of scallops in coastal areas and deep sea sites this year. But the scallop growth is unsatisfactory. The coastal ones reach the size of about 140 scallops per jin (0.5 kilo), while the deep-sea ones are only at around 160 scallops per jin.
The problems have resulted from stocking too densely. Last year, scallop growth in the area was good, so farmers expanded, and many relocated cages to this area. However, the high density resulted in insufficient natural feed, creating a 'scallop desert'.
Other areas in the province where scallops were raised with lower densities have seen better results, with some farmers reporting sizes in the 100 to 120 range per Jin...
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