Fujian Province will spend 154 million yuan (US$19.09 million) this year to protect its seawater resources and develop its ocean industry, a senior official with the provincial government has revealed.

 

The east China province will carry out a number of initiatives, including ocean function classification, to help boost the ocean industry, Fujian Governor Huang Xiaojing told the five-day Fourth Session of the 10th Fujian Provincial People's Congress, which will end tomorrow.

 

With the country's second longest coastline of 3,324 kilometers, about one sixth of China's total, Fujian has abundant ocean and port resources.

 

But pollution caused by aquaculture and agriculture waste, as well as oil tanker leaking accidents, pose a major threat to resources.

 

The increase in red tides where toxic algae decimates marine life in recent years has also brought great losses for the province's sea-farming.

 

Figures reveal the province has also reclaimed a total of 91,300 hectares of seashore land, about 30 percent of the province's total. Some appropriate reclamation has already destroyed the ecological balance of coastal environment.

 

Zheng Gengxin, vice-director with Fujian Environmental Protection Bureau, said: "The prospect of ocean economy is very attractive, but it should not be at the expense of the sustainability of ocean environment."

 

Zheng said the province plans to further enhance law enforcement for ocean protection. A new statute on administration of sea area usage is now being discussed that is expected to standardize the approval procedure for ocean exploitation.

 

In addition, a special project of building an environment observing system of Taiwan Straits and nearby sea areas, one of the key measures to improve the province's sea disaster forecast ability, has been under construction, according to Fujian Ocean and Fisheries Bureau.

 

A new batch of observing stations to monitor red tides and control sewage issued at sea mouths will also be built as planned.

 

The province's 11th Five-Year Outline proposals to turn Fujian into an ocean economy power.

 

With an output value of more than 200 billion yuan (US$25 billion) last year, the ocean economy has become one of Fujian's pillar industries. By 2010, the growth of its ocean economy is expected to account for at least 18 percent of the local GDP.

 

By the same year, Fuzhou Port and Xiamen Port are expected to have respective handling capacities of more than 100 million tons.

 

Xiamen City will invest 12 billion yuan (US$1.49 billion) in the period to integrate the eight port areas in Xiamen Bay.

 

It will help it increase its throughput to 120 million tons, which will play a leading role in the entire coastal transportation network development and bring more business opportunities, Ma Jilie, vice-director with Fujian Provincial Communications Department, told China Daily.

 

(China Daily January 11, 2006)