Largemouth bass powers a growing industry chain

By Chen Si.

Yichang boasts a stable fishery farming area of more than 190,000 mu (12,666 hectares). In recent years, the city has accelerated the transformation of its traditional fishery sector into a full-fledged industry chain around high-quality aquatic products.

As Yichang’s core aquatic production base, Zhijiang has developed an integrated industrial system covering fry breeding, standardized aquaculture and intensive processing, with largemouth bass as its flagship product.

A bird’s-eye view of Zhijiang Maohutang Freshwater Fish Farming Base. Photo by Zhou Chongyu

High-quality bass fry wins major orders

Inside the breeding workshop of Lingxiang Aquaculture Co., Ltd., newly hatched largemouth bass fry swim in thermostatically controlled cultivation ponds.

The company specializes in parent fish selection and fry breeding for largemouth bass. The entire production process, including induced spawning, hatching, and fry rearing, is precisely controlled for temperature, light, and water quality, with real-time monitoring of dissolved oxygen and ammonia nitrogen levels.

Newly hatched bass fry. Photo by Zhou Chongyu

“These fry have been fed for just three days. Microscopic examination shows their intestines are filled with rotifers, which supports robust and rapid growth. The survival rate of fry growing to about 3 centimeters in length remains steadily above 50 percent,” said Deng Long, the company’s technical director.

Thanks to continuous selective breeding, the fry cultivated here feature strong disease resistance, fast growth, and uniform size, and are sold widely to Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Sichuan, and other provinces.

“We focus on the core upstream breeding segment of the bass industry. We have invested over 2 million yuan (US$293,255) in parent fish breeding and maintain more than 100,000 high-quality parent fish in our ponds. In our first year of operation, early fry orders have exceeded 8 million yuan. We target an annual fry output of 50 million and plan to expand our breeding facilities and build supporting laboratory buildings. Our ultimate goal is to increase annual output to 80 million and further strengthen the ‘Yichang bass fry’ brand,” said Guo Shanwei, the person in charge of the company.

Professional teams support hundreds of fish farmers

High-quality management after fry are stocked is equally crucial. The concentrated breeding bases operated by Shengwei Aquaculture Service Co., Ltd. use an eco-friendly farming model with unified fry stocking, standardized feeding, and integrated daily management.

"We integrate advanced technical and market resources, cooperate with expert teams from Huazhong Agricultural University and other prestigious universities, and procure farming supplies in bulk directly from manufacturers. To date, we have served more than 700 fish farmers in Yichang, covering a clustered bass farming area of more than 10,000 mu," said Xiang Dinghong, general manager of the company.

This standardized service model not only improves the quality of adult bass but also increases local farmers’ incomes by 15 to 20 percent.

Innovative price insurance safeguards development

Zhijiang has taken the lead in Hubei Province by launching a specialized risk protection system for the largemouth bass industry.

Guo Kaihong, director of the Zhijiang Aquatic Service Center, explained that insurance providers will offer compensation based on agreed price differentials once the market price of bass drops below the production cost. Last year, the lowest market price dropped to 17 yuan per kilogram, 4 yuan below the actual cost, and insurers compensated farmers 4 yuan per kilogram, effectively helping hedge operational risks.

Unlike traditional fishery insurance, which covers only natural disasters and disease outbreaks, this innovative insurance product addresses market fluctuation risks by leveraging futures market mechanisms.

At present, 10 local farming entities have purchased this insurance, covering 3,000 mu of aquaculture waters with a total risk protection value of nearly 70 million yuan.

Deep processing elevates product added value

Workers at Hubei Qinjie Food Co., Ltd. in Zhijiang produce freshly made bass cakes using locally sourced largemouth bass, with finished products delivered nationwide.
 

Fresh bass cakes. Photo by Zhou Chongyu

“We have received tens of thousands of orders since launching our products in January, with highly positive market feedback. Our bass cakes feature firm, springy flesh with no fishy odor, and have achieved a repurchase rate of 85 percent in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou,” said Qin Lixin, chairman of the company. The company also plans to develop more processed products, including bass balls and bass-pork meatballs.

Led by Zhijiang, Yichang is expanding the advantages of its full industry chain, from fry breeding and green aquaculture to risk protection and intensive processing, across the city.

By the end of 2025, Yichang’s largemouth bass farming area had reached 7,000 mu, with an annual fry output of 100 million and a total industry output value of 265 million yuan.

Zhou Chongyu also contributed to this story