Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Wei Yonggui, Correspondent Li Xuguang) news: On December 8, 2024, at the Chunyu Agricultural and Pastoral Professional Cooperative in Erpu Town, Yizhou District, Hami City, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, staff were feeding fish in the ponds.

Photo shows a worker feeds fish at the Chunyu Agricultural and Pastoral Professional Cooperative in Erpu Town, Yizhou District, Hami City, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyguar Autoomous Region. (Photo by Azmatxa)

As winter sets in, the weather here remains mild, with the water temperature in the fish ponds hovering around 18 Celsius degrees, which is ideal for the growth of cold-water fish. Within the ponds, largemouth bass, rainbow trout, and Chinese sturgeon vie for bait, churning up splashes of water.

The water in the fish ponds originates from the nearby Karez wells. The well water traverses the Gobi Desert, flowing out from underground channels with a stable and suitable temperature, making it ideal for raising cold-water fish.

"The cooperative has invested over two million yuan (about 0.28 million U.S. dollars) to build 10 fish ponds, utilizing Karez well water for cold-water fish farming, and the results have been promising," said Liu Hao, a worker at the fish pond. The cooperative has been in fish farming for seven years, mastering fish breeding techniques and gaining a reputation in Yizhou District. Using Karez well water for cold-water fish farming is a new initiative by the cooperative to reduce costs and improve benefits, which has shown to be economically beneficial.

Photo shows an indoor greenhouse-style recirculating water breeding system with the utilization of the Karez well water in Gongshang Village, Erpu Township, Yizhou District, Hami City, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Azmatxa)

Near the fish ponds of Chunyu Agricultural and Pastoral Professional Cooperative, is the Circular Aquaculture Breeding Base in Gongshang Village, invested and constructed by the village committee. And a tatal of 3.4 million yuan (about 0.47 million U.S. dollars) was invested in rural revitalization project at this base, utilizing the Karez well water to build an indoor greenhouse-style recirculating water breeding system, with a total of 12 large ponds and 10 small ponds, which are about to be completed and ready for stocking. It is expected that once the base reaches its production capacity, it will harvest 25 tons of cold-water fish annually.

In Huayuan Township, Yizhou District, the aquaculture breeding base, invested and constructed by the Yizhou District Government, has been steadily and highly productive year after year. Zou Jianwei, an aquaculture engineer from the Yizhou District Aquatic Promotion Station, introduced that this base has used various technological means to create a favorable water body and environmental conditions suitable for fish growth and reproduction on land." This year, the base has adjusted the proportion of breeding varieties, mainly focusing on bass and tilapia, with an expected output of over 100 tons in 2024. The economic benefits have been further improved, enriching the food basket of the people of Hami."

In recent years, Hami City has promoted the rapid development of aquaculture through pond breeding, factory-style recirculating breeding, and large water surface breeding. In 2024, the total output of main aquatic products in Hami City is expected to be 377.02 tons. Among them, the breeding output is 326.22 tons, accounting for 86.53 percent of the total aquatic product volume; the capture output is 50.8 tons, accounting for 13.47 percent of the total aquatic product volume.

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