In the early morning of May 30, two ocean-going fishing boats docked in the waters of Zhouzai Island, Wanning, in China’s Hainan Province. The two boats were ready to be loaded with 300,000 live yellowtail fry (fry is the industry term for young fish) on their way to Japan. As of May 30, 2022,Hainan had exported 34 ships of yellowtail to Japan.

300,000 yellowtail fry were loaded on board. ZHANG YE

Thousands of yellowtail fry are kept in each compartment. ZHANG YE
 

"Japan has a huge demand for yellowtail. This year, the RCEP Agreement has entered into force, and the two countries have established bilateral trade relations, which has been really great for our exporters," explained Zhou Bo, Chairman of Wanning Linlan Aquaculture Co., Ltd.
Zhou Bo said that the yellowtail fry that they export are juvenile fish measuring 25-30 cm. in length. After these fish arrive in Japan, they need to be raised for another year and a half before they enter the market as commercial fish. Yellowtail is very popular in Japan, where it is called hamachi or buri. These fish are eaten either cooked or raw. Wanning and Lingshui in Hainan are the core production areas for the yellowtail fishery, which the import industry of Japan greatly relies on. 

Yellowtail. ZHANG YE

On January 1, 2022, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, a free trade agreement, entered into force. This is the first time that China and Japan have established bilateral free trade relations. Due to the RCEP trade, the export of yellowtail fry from Hainan to Japan has grown significantly. As of May 30, Hainan had exported about 5.1 million fish to Japan, with export revenues expected to exceed RMB 130 million.

A representative of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Hainan Province said that after the RCEP agreement entered into force, Haikou Xiuying Immigration Inspection Station, Wenchang Customs, and other departments took the lead in providing service and set up innovative measures such as online services, which shortened customs clearance time, reduced the operating cost of enterprises, and made doing business more convenient for exporters. In addition to yellowtail fry, Hainan also exports frozen fish fillets, frozen shrimp, agar, flowers, and other high-quality products to Japan, with a total annual export value of more than RMB 100 million.