The Story of the "New Fisherman" and the Sea: Building a Distant-Water Fishing Base in Mauritania

Fuzhou, China News Service, April 1 Title: "The Story of the New Fisherman" and the Sea: Building an Ocean Fishing Base in Mauritania

China News Service reporter Long Min

"Do you know where Mauritania is?" The fishery resources there are very rich, and it is as beautiful and rich as Fujian. As soon as they met, Lan Pingyong, the "new fisherman" who was interviewed by a reporter from the China News Agency, asked in this way.

Eight years ago, Lan Pingyong decided to build his distant-water fishing base in Mauritania. At the time, friends around me thought the idea was almost crazy. Mauritania, a country in northwestern Africa, is more than 10,000 nautical miles from his home province of Fujian.

Lan Pingyong, chairman of Fuzhou Hongdong Fishery Co., Ltd., told reporters that as early as that time, he judged that it was necessary to "go out", and that it was an inevitable trend of international fishery cooperation to go from offshore to offshore and from ocean to ocean.

Since 2009, Lan Pingyong has begun to investigate many countries in Africa and South America. In June 2010, in Nuwadibu, Mauritania, he noticed that the local fishery resources are abundant, but the processing and preservation technology is backward, and the development space is huge. What made him even more determined was that the local sound fisheries development legislation made specific provisions on fishing tools, production systems and means, etc. "Only a sound legislation can have sustainable industrial development." ”

A comprehensive distant-water fishing base with a total investment of US$300 million and an area of 90,000 square meters covering the whole industrial chain of fishing, warehousing, processing, shipbuilding, desalination, etc., has risen on the edge of the desert in Mauritania. At present, there are 25 containers of fish goods totaling more than 2,500 tons per week, from which they are sent to China, Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea.

"Every week, a fleet of ships flying five-star red flags, laden with seafood from the west coast of Africa, arrives in Fuzhou after more than 50 days of voyages." Lan Pingyong said.

Lan Pingyong was born and raised in Huangqi Town, Lianjiang County, located on the southeast coast of China, between the two major fishing grounds in eastern Fujian and central Fujian, with a superior geographical location, and is a well-known fishing town. Lan Pingyong's grandfather is a local fisherman, and he still can't forget the scene when he was a child when his grandfather took him out to sea to fish: shaking a small sampan out to sea, walking through the wind and waves.

However, Lan Pingyong was originally engaged in light industry and international trade. It was not until 1999, when he bought two boats with a few fellow villagers, that he once again continued the family tradition and became a "new fisherman".

"I have a deep fisherman's complex." Lan Pingyong said. Since then, the Chinese "new fisherman" has rapidly expanded the size of his fleet and the scale of his fishing industry has also grown.

At present, "Hongdong Fishery" is the second largest enterprise in Mauritania, with an annual output value of more than 500 million yuan and more than 2,500 local employees. Hongdong Fisheries has signed a 50-year fisheries cooperation agreement with Mauritania, and other African countries also hope to cooperate.

Speaking of the success achieved on the west coast of Africa, Lan Pingyong believes that the main reason is mutual benefit and win-win results.

During the interview, Lan Pingyong took out his mobile phone and clicked on a picture to show the reporter: "The company not only teaches local fishermen how to drive boats and catch fish, but also builds a training center and an employee entertainment activity center in the park, and configures a shuttle bus to pick up local employees." ”

China's strength is another key factor. For example, he said, due to the security factors in the Somali waters of the Gulf of Aden, the large fleet of "Hongdong Fishery" had to choose to travel to and from China in the waters of the Cape of Good Hope; now, the fleet passes through the Somali waters of the Gulf of Aden and is escorted by Chinese warships, saving more than ten days, which makes the crew feel extremely proud.

At the two sessions of the National People's Congress in March this year, Lan Pingyong, the first npc deputy, put forward the proposal to "continue to support the healthy development of the distant-water fisheries industry". He hopes to provide legal guarantees for the long-term safe operation of distant-water fishing bases, and also looks forward to the "Belt and Road" initiative to promote more countries to participate in cooperation for mutual benefit and win-win results.

"I want to bring the most natural, the highest quality, the healthiest seafood to the table." Lan Pingyong said. (End)