HAIKOU /China/, May 22. /Employees of the leading Wuzhizhou Island diving zone in Hainan Province have recently announced the sighting of a giant sea bass in the adjacent water area, Sanya Daily reported.
According to the paper, the fish reaches more than 1 meter in length and weighs about 50 kilograms. Employees of the tourist site first learned about it from colleagues working at a nearby sea farm. They promptly contacted experts to consult on the peculiarities of the huge fish and the conditions it needs to create to "ensure complete comfort".
Professor Wang Aimin of the Institute of Oceanology at Hainan University noted that the individual discovered by the tourists had "rare habits". The scientist admitted that he had not seen such large wild sea bass on the shoals off the coast of Hainan for five or six years.
According to Wang Aimin, the last time he saw a similar species was on an artificial reef near Wuzhizhou, a small island near the resort city of Sanya. A different exotic wildlife species - spotted seals - is noted to have appeared in these areas in 2023.
They are believed to have appeared near Wuzhizhou because of emerging marine farms that research organizations have been setting up off Hainan's southern coast in recent years in line with the government's sustainable development concept. These "sea pastures" provide a suitable environment for ocean dwellers and help maintain biodiversity.
The arrival of sea bass and seals is noted to indicate an improved ecology in these areas.
Hainan Sea Farms
According to official figures, investment in the construction of sea farms near Wuzhizhou amounted to 90 million yuan ($12.6 million at current exchange rates). Artificial reefs have been created in the area with a volume of about 80 thousand cubic meters. These are more than 2.5 thousand special cement structures and more than 20 objects resembling a sea vessel in shape.
There are 51 thousand transplanted corals covering an area of 53 thousand square meters around Wuzhizhou. Shrimps, mollusksand other marine life have settled in them.