On the evening of November 11, 2019, when everyone was still immersed in the double eleven purchase (duò) (shǒu) carnival, Zhangzidao Group Co., Ltd. broke the big news again - Zhangzidao family scallops ran in doubles!
As we all know, this is the fourth "run" of Zhangzidao scallops after the first quarter of 2014, 2018 and 2019:
October 2014
Zhangzidao announced that due to the abnormal cold water mass in the North Yellow Sea and other factors, the company sowed more than 1 million mu of Ezo scallops sown in 2011 and some in 2012 that are about to enter the harvest period. Affected by this, Zhangzidao lost a huge loss of 1.189 billion yuan in 2014, shocking the A-share market. However, all parties in the market did not buy the reason for the huge loss given by Zhangzidao, laughingly calling it "scallops running".
January 2018
The company found that the inventory of bottom-sown Ezo scallops in some areas was abnormal, and it is expected that the performance in 2017 will change from a profit of 0.9-11 million yuan to a loss of 530-720 million yuan. Later, in the company's annual report, it was explained that the reason for the huge loss in 2017 was the shortage of bait caused by the marine disaster and the starvation of scallops.
2019 First Quarterly Report
Affected by the marine disaster, the company's aquaculture products production declined, and the company's net profit loss was 43.14 million yuan.
On the evening of November 11, 2019, Zhangzidao issued an announcement that scallop yield per mu had plummeted by 90%, and the company's preliminary judgment constituted a major inventory impairment risk.
From the announcement, we can extract the following information:
1. A large proportion of scallops died in the sampling area;
2. The death occurred shortly before the sampling;
3. The cause of death is currently unknown.
After the public announcement caused an uproar on the Internet, some netizens joked: "I can cheat, please pay attention to the number of times!" "With the succession of large-scale deaths, coupled with the company's financial data "heavy history", Zhangzidao is currently facing questions from all sides in the market.
Every time there is an accident on ZhangziDao, the escape scallop diagram will be circulated once. 丨giphy
However, today we will not talk about the "man-made disaster" behind the incident, but from the perspective of aquaculture: whether a good scallop may occur such a strange thing as "collective sudden violent death".
Turns out you're such a scallop
The original species of Ezo scallop (Painopecten yessoensis) is mainly native to the southern waters of Hokkaido and honshu in Northern Honshu, Russia, and belongs to the cold-water shellfish.
Ezo scallops. 丨Daderot / wikimedia
Ezo scallops are hermaphroditic, the most suitable growth temperature is 10 ° C ~ 16 ° C, when the water temperature is lower than 5 ° C, growth is slow, above 23 ° C when the vitality is weakened, long-term high temperature is easy to die. Its adaptation to salinity is narrow, with salinity ranging from 25 to 35‰.
In 1982, Ezo scallops were introduced to China from Japan as a new variety, and the word "Ezo" was taken from the old name of The Hokkaido region of Japan in ancient China. After successively solving a series of technical problems such as breeding and growing, related production and breeding activities have developed rapidly in the Yellow Bohai Sea region.
Because of their large size, white flesh and delicious taste, Ezo scallops are loved by many diners. In just over 30 years, Ezo scallops have become one of the important marine economically farmed shellfish in China.
Delicious grilled scallops on the table. 丨Asashi Yanagiya / flickr
It was also during that time that Zhangzidao took advantage of the east wind of Ezo scallops to open the era of marine ranching 2.0: the industrial model changed from fishing to "increasing aquaculture", that is, the "bottom-sown breeding" that has recently appeared frequently in the news.
Watch the "Ocean Ranch" eating in the sky
Bottom-sown breeding refers to the release of seed into larger natural waters, under certain artificial protection measures, let it grow naturally, restore stock resources or fish and recover again, and realize natural value and economic value. Because it is similar to grazing cattle and sheep on land, this large artificial fishery that is stocked at sea is also called "Marine Ranching".
Compared with simple fishing, bottom sowing and breeding make full use of the functions of seawater bait and self-purification, which can effectively prevent the occurrence of diseases, and also greatly alleviate the pressure on marine living resources, which is conducive to the sustainable development of fisheries.
In contrast to bottom sowing, the way of rearing seafood such as scallops in cages is called sea area hanging. 丨CoWatch
However, at the same time, due to the larger natural environment affected by the natural environment in the process of bottom sowing and the low degree of human intervention, the amount of harvest almost depends on the mood of nature.
Zhangzidao Company has also publicly stated that the ecological environment of the North Yellow Sea is complex, and the degree of human intervention in the production mode of bottom sowing and breeding is low, so in the process of bottom sowing and breeding, it will be greatly affected by the natural environment and ecological environment of the sea area.
In this breeding mode, the situation of "collective violent death" of scallops is indeed possible.
"Collective violent death" is indeed possible
The causes of death can be roughly divided into two categories
Natural ecology
In the explanation given by Zhangzidao, the reason for the first three "scallop runs" is a natural disaster.
First, let's look at the "Abnormal Cold Water Mass of the North Yellow Sea" in 2014. The North Yellow Sea cold water mass, also known as the central water mass of the Yellow Sea, has the characteristics of low temperature and small salt difference. It is precisely because of the existence of this cold water mass that the sea waters of the Yellow Sea can also maintain a low temperature of 6 to 12 ° C and a certain salinity in the summer, so that scallops, sea cucumbers and other sea treasures can grow in the most suitable environment.
Growing into a big scallop that you can eat is really not easy. 丨あおもりくま / flickr
However, this cold water mass is not very stable, and sometimes even causes a sharp change in the temperature of the sea, causing large-scale death of organisms.
If you are not careful, the lucky star becomes a disaster star.
Looking at 2018, officials attributed "shortage of bait and skinny scallops" to reduced rainfall. Rainfall data released by the Changhai County Meteorological Bureau show that the rainfall in Changhai County in 2017 and 2018 was 392.2 mm and 397.2 mm, respectively, which was 120 to 130 mm less than the same period in the calendar year.
The decrease in rainfall will shorten the peak growth period of phytoplankton, and the number will fluctuate greatly compared with previous years, so it is indeed possible that scallops are "skinny".
Scallops themselves
As mentioned above, compared with simple fishing, bottom-sown breeding is more conducive to alleviating the pressure on marine living resources. But this needs to be based on moderation, when the amount and scope of sowing exceeds the carrying capacity of nature, it is no longer to reduce the burden on the ocean, but to "add trouble" to the ocean.
As can be seen from the data over the years, the bottom-sown area of filter-feeding shellfish in the Northern Yellow Sea, mainly Zhangzidao Ezo scallops, has been rising almost every year, but the production has continued to decline after reaching its peak in 2011 – which is reminiscent of the example of herders' cattle and sheep eating the grassland.
The closed shell muscle of Ezo scallops is white and large, the taste is fresh and sweet, the price is relatively low, and the edible value is very high. 丨Pixabay
Just as the oceans cannot withstand large-scale human fishing, so can the oceans withstand the large-scale sowing of seed. Imagine a large area of the sea being occupied by the same creature, what if there is a disease? This is the problem that Zhangzidao is currently facing.
In the process of aquaculture, the most feared are the words "disease" and "harm". Especially for the breeding mode of bottom sowing, which is given to nature, once there is an invasion of disease or predators, human forces cannot even stop its spread.
The ocean is so big, how easy is it to apply medicine to catch insects?
Spiny sea disc car. It and echinoderms such as petrels and snaketails are the main natural enemies of Ezo scallops, and Ezo scallops are also affected by fouling organisms that attach to the surface of the shell, such as barnacles, oysters, mussels, chiseled female insects, and oriental crevice clams. 丨wikimedia
In addition, the monostructure and trait decline caused by generational culture have put the ecosystem in the Yellow Sea in a "sub-healthy" state. Although Zhangzidao attempts to conserve ecology through conservation organisms with "scavenger" functions such as ginseng, snails and sea urchins, as well as the release of artificial reefs, the large-scale expansion of scallop farming areas is still a major challenge for the ocean.
This blind expansion, while challenging the limits of the ocean, also causes the company itself to suffer losses.
Therefore, from the perspective of the possibility of occurrence, the "collective violent death" of farmed scallops is not nonsense, and similar incidents have been reported in Japan, Canada, Peru and other countries before. The frequent occurrence of large-scale deaths and the lack of credibility of Zhangzidao Company are the real reasons for the doubts caused by all parties as soon as the incident broke out.
Changes in ocean pH have been reported to cause mass deaths of scallops.
Unlike other assets, the assets of fishery enterprises are mostly on the seabed, and each inventory and supervision requires a lot of human and financial resources. The difficulty of the inventory makes the inventory amount confusing, and also exposes the "eggshell seam" of profit operations. The scallops that were originally worth 300 million yuan instantly became a pile of empty shells, and it is no wonder that netizens commented: "The inventory basically depends on guessing, and the scallops are dead or alive." ”
At present, Zhangzidao Company has responded to the "Letter of Concern" issued by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, saying that the death of Ezo scallops in some areas may continue; the specific reasons for the large-scale natural death of Ezo scallops have not yet been known.
Whether it is a natural disaster or a man-made disaster behind the huge loss, we do not know at present, and we need to wait for the follow-up investigation results.
Author: Berlika.
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