East China's Shandong Province saw a 3.6-percent year-on-year fall in aquatic product exports in 2008 - the first drop since 2004, according to latest customs data.

The province exported 776,000 tons of aquatic products last year, Qingdao Customs said.

About 89 percent of the exports went to the European Union, Japan, South Korea and the United States, which received 276,000 tons, 170,000 tons, 136,000 tons and 108,000 tons, respectively.

Despite a slight rise of 6.7 percent and 1.5 percent in exports to the EU and Japan, those to South Korea and the US fell 24.4 percent and 8 percent from a year ago.

During the past year, the processing and export of China's aquatic products has seen "an unprecedented shock," said Qingdao Customs.

(Xinhua News Agency February 4, 2009)