The maritime silk road starts in Fujian Province, from the ports of Fuzhou, Pingtan, and Quanzhou. But the fishermen here are going far beyond their ancestors, on the 21st century maritime silk road.
They have travelled the world, literally, from Mauritania to Fuzhou city.
"These are our major products, including cuttlefish, octopus, and squid from Mauritanian coastal areas. We have invested over 200 million US dollars on building cold storage, processing factory, mechanical pier at the port, providing over 2,000 job vacancies for the locals. Accordingly, we got a 100,000 tons fishing permit from the Mauritanian government, almost twice as much as the EU’s permit," Lan Pingyong, chairman of Fujian Hongdong Pelagic Fishery Co. Ltd.,said.
In 2010, Lan Yongping decided to move from waters off Indonesia - where most distant-water fishing companies are exploring- to the west coast of Africa, which boasts the best quality fishing resources.
"Our fishing vessels went through the Strait of Malacca, the Somali waters, and then finally arrived at Mauritania. 109 fishing vessels and over 2,500 workers are sailing on this route. We caught 40,000 tons of deep-sea fish in Mauritania last year and the volume may rise to 60,000 tons in 2016. 60 percent of our product was sold to the European market; the rest went to the local market or was brought back to the Chinese market," Lan Pingyong, chairman of Fujian Hongdong Pelagic Fishery Co. Ltd.,said.
Lan’s story reflects the fast development of enterprises making use of the ancient silk road.
As the starting-point of the maritime silk road, Fujian Province has made great efforts to boost China's Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiatives, which involve several countries and 63 percent of the world's population. The revival of the silk road brings more opportunities for cultural and economic cooperation.
At the Inaugural Cities Forum of the Maritime and Continent Silk Road Cities Association here in Fuzhou, over 500 participants from 27 countries gathered to promote further cooperation.
Lan’s company has received fishing invitations from six other countries as well. Cooperation and mutual benefits are driving the industry further on the way to success.
