Imagine raising tons of fish in the middle of the sea using only a cell phone. This is what's happening in Fuzhou, China, where zero-carbon smart platforms already produce more than 2,200 tons of seafood per year and are expected to reach 15 units.

Imagine raising tons of fish in the middle of the sea using only a cell phone. This is what’s happening in Fuzhou, China, where zero-carbon smart platforms already produce more than 2,200 tons of seafood per year and are expected to reach 15 units.

Written by Maria Heloisa Barbosa Borges

Published on 29/05/2026 at 22:44

Be the first to react!

The city of Fuzhou, capital of China’s Fujian province, operates smart deep-water aquaculture platforms with zero carbon that produce over 2,200 tons of fish and seafood per year, with a production value of 44 million dollars. By the end of 2026, the total number of platforms will reach 15, with the completion of two new units called Yunhai that will receive an investment of 130 million yuan. The floating farms run on solar and wind energy, use 20 smart sensors, require only one or two crew members, and allow fish feeding via smartphone.

China is farming fish on an industrial scale in the middle of the ocean using zero-carbon floating platforms that operate without fossil fuel and are controlled by mobile phone. In Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province, 13 smart deep-water aquaculture platforms already occupy 270,000 cubic meters of water and produce over 2,200 tons of fish and seafood per year. The structures, nicknamed “Iron Men of the Sea,” cultivate high-value species like large yellow croaker and abalone using automated feeding and monitoring systems that have drastically reduced the need for labor.

By the end of this year, two new platforms called Yunhai will be completed, bringing the total to 15 units, according to ChinaDaily, expanding the capacity by 170,000 cubic meters. The investment in the new structures is 130 million yuan, equivalent to about 97 million reais, and the expectation is to achieve 80% digitalization throughout the entire fish and seafood production cycle, with feeding controlled by smartphone from silos with a capacity of 10 tons each.

How the platforms farm fish without fuel

An aerial view captures the Qiandong 2 deep-water intelligent aquaculture platform in Dinghai Bay, Fuzhou, Fujian province. [image: CHINA DAILY]

The aquaculture platforms in Fuzhou are zero-carbon systems that operate with complementary solar and wind energy. Each unit of the Qiandong series holds 20,000 cubic meters of water for fish farming and operates with nearly 20 intelligent sensors for digital management of temperature, oxygenation, currents, and feeding.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Farmed fish with wild quality

One of the differentiators of these platforms is that the fish farmed in deep waters have much higher meat quality than those raised in conventional coastal ponds. The strong ocean currents keep the fish at a high level of physical activity, which produces firmer and tastier meat, very similar to that of wild species caught by traditional fishermen.

Chen Jinwen, from Marine Granary (Fujian) Technology Co., confirmed that quality is one of the main commercial arguments for the fish produced on the platforms. The price difference between deep-water fish and shallow pond fish justifies the investment in intelligent structures, and the annual production value of 44 million dollars proves that the operation is economically viable even with the high costs of offshore construction and maintenance.

Resistance to super typhoons and operation with two crew members

The platforms were designed to withstand super typhoons with category 16 winds, a condition that would destroy conventional coastal aquaculture structures. The system requires only one or two crew members for routine maintenance, and the entire fish feeding operation can be remotely controlled via smartphones connected to the 10 feed silos with a capacity of 10 tons each.

The Qiandong series holds nearly 50 patents and copyrights related to zero-carbon technology for deep-water aquaculture. The commercial production of large yellow croaker in Dinghai Bay, Lianjiang County, demonstrates that the model works on a real scale and can be replicated in other coastal regions of China and the world.

What fish platforms mean for the future of aquaculture

The Fujian government supports the “Maritime Fujian” initiative to expand deep-water aquaculture, and the province already ranks first in China in scale for this type of production. Chen revealed that the company intends to invite traditional fish farmers to become shareholders of the platforms, transforming artisanal fishermen into managers of advanced marine farms operated via mobile phone.

The strategy of transforming traditional fishermen into “coastal fishermen” who manage smart platforms is relevant because it solves two problems simultaneously: modernizing fish production and preserving the livelihood of communities that depend on fishing.

For the world, the Chinese model demonstrates that it is possible to farm fish on an industrial scale in the middle of the ocean, with zero-carbon systems, minimal staff, and quality comparable to wild catch.

Did you know that China farms fish in the middle of the ocean using platforms controlled by mobile phone? Do you think Brazil should invest in this technology for the Brazilian coast? Tell us in the comments.

Imagine raising tons of fish in the middle of the sea using only a cell phone. This is what’s happening in Fuzhou, China, where zero-carbon smart platforms already produce more than 2,200 tons of seafood per year and are expected to reach 15 units.

How the platforms farm fish without fuel

Farmed fish with wild quality

Resistance to super typhoons and operation with two crew members

What fish platforms mean for the future of aquaculture

A giant printer called the “Ferrari” of concrete has landed in Latin America and can already build a 120-square-meter house in just 48 hours, making the traditional construction site look like something from the last century.

A British company has installed in the middle of the ocean the world’s first floating platform that generates electricity 24 hours a day from the temperature difference between the surface and the depths of the Atlantic, without relying on wind or sun.

Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt has ceased to be a climatic phenomenon and has become a biological system that feeds on itself, with 8,000 kilometers in length, 37 million tons of algae, and scientists confirm that it is now permanent.

China is building an artificial island in the middle of the sea, covering 20 km², to construct the largest offshore airport in the world, the Dalian Jinzhouwan. This $4.3 billion project is anchored on more than 3,000 pillars embedded in the rock beneath the ocean and is scheduled to open in 2035.

A robot named Walter does the work of five bricklayers per hour and can save the construction industry, where the average age of professionals is 46 years and almost no one wants to learn the trade anymore, in the United Kingdom.

Engineers had to pour concrete mixed with tons of ice throughout entire nights in the Dubai desert to erect the Burj Khalifa; any carelessness could clog the pipes half a mile high.

The James Webb telescope spotted a planet 700 light-years from Earth with mornings full of sand clouds and nights with clear skies, the temperature difference between the two hemispheres reaches an impressive 170 degrees.

Seen from space, an underwater volcano erupts in the Pacific, spewing smoke directly from the sea, spreading floating pumice, and may be creating a new island in a region so poorly mapped that scientists still do not know exactly which structure is erupting.

Researchers identify marks of Ice Age megafloods in the United States, a phenomenon that crossed Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, sculpted rolling hills like waves, and left giant scars that still challenge the landscape.

A small town with 800 inhabitants in the interior of the United States is giving away free land, with water, electricity, and paved streets, and even offers a cash allowance for families with children, all to attract residents and escape the depopulation threatening rural villages.

At about 9 meters deep in the sea of Sicily, divers recovered a 2,500-year-old marble horse attributed to the colossal Temple of Zeus in Agrigento, a piece that, if confirmed, would be the largest archaeological discovery in the region in a century.

The world’s smallest war drone fits in the palm of your hand, weighs 70 grams, is ready in less than a minute, and has already been delivered to over 45 countries. The Black Hornet nanodrone allows soldiers to spy on dangerous areas without leaving cover.

Imagine raising tons of fish in the middle of the sea using only a cell phone. This is what’s happening in Fuzhou, China, where zero-carbon smart platforms already produce more than 2,200 tons of seafood per year and are expected to reach 15 units.

How the platforms farm fish without fuel

Farmed fish with wild quality

Resistance to super typhoons and operation with two crew members

What fish platforms mean for the future of aquaculture

A giant printer called the “Ferrari” of concrete has landed in Latin America and can already build a 120-square-meter house in just 48 hours, making the traditional construction site look like something from the last century.

A British company has installed in the middle of the ocean the world’s first floating platform that generates electricity 24 hours a day from the temperature difference between the surface and the depths of the Atlantic, without relying on wind or sun.

Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt has ceased to be a climatic phenomenon and has become a biological system that feeds on itself, with 8,000 kilometers in length, 37 million tons of algae, and scientists confirm that it is now permanent.

China is building an artificial island in the middle of the sea, covering 20 km², to construct the largest offshore airport in the world, the Dalian Jinzhouwan. This $4.3 billion project is anchored on more than 3,000 pillars embedded in the rock beneath the ocean and is scheduled to open in 2035.

A robot named Walter does the work of five bricklayers per hour and can save the construction industry, where the average age of professionals is 46 years and almost no one wants to learn the trade anymore, in the United Kingdom.

Engineers had to pour concrete mixed with tons of ice throughout entire nights in the Dubai desert to erect the Burj Khalifa; any carelessness could clog the pipes half a mile high.

The James Webb telescope spotted a planet 700 light-years from Earth with mornings full of sand clouds and nights with clear skies, the temperature difference between the two hemispheres reaches an impressive 170 degrees.

Brazil prepares for a record coffee export with 50 million bags, a historic harvest, and low global stocks, but El Niño threatens the flowering and could change prices, sales, and supply amid the international market race.

Starting from December 2026, Europe tightens restrictions on soy, meat, and coffee from Brazil and requires traceability to the origin, creating a “green passport” that may determine which farms, slaughterhouses, and exporters will still be able to sell to the European bloc.

China is depleting Brazil’s donkeys: animals sold for up to R$ 10 in Ceará become a R$ 1,500 product in Asia, while the population plummets by 94%.

Bacterial disease already affects almost half of the Brazilian citrus belt, causes losses of US$ 120 million per year, deforms green oranges, and threatens the country that dominates the global orange juice market while the US and Europe increasingly depend on Brazil.

Brazilian soybean meal exporters may gain a window of opportunity in Asia after India canceled export contracts for the first time since 2021, creating room for Brazil to supply buyers such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Japan.

Seen from space, an underwater volcano erupts in the Pacific, spewing smoke directly from the sea, spreading floating pumice, and may be creating a new island in a region so poorly mapped that scientists still do not know exactly which structure is erupting.

Researchers identify marks of Ice Age megafloods in the United States, a phenomenon that crossed Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, sculpted rolling hills like waves, and left giant scars that still challenge the landscape.

A small town with 800 inhabitants in the interior of the United States is giving away free land, with water, electricity, and paved streets, and even offers a cash allowance for families with children, all to attract residents and escape the depopulation threatening rural villages.

At about 9 meters deep in the sea of Sicily, divers recovered a 2,500-year-old marble horse attributed to the colossal Temple of Zeus in Agrigento, a piece that, if confirmed, would be the largest archaeological discovery in the region in a century.

The world’s smallest war drone fits in the palm of your hand, weighs 70 grams, is ready in less than a minute, and has already been delivered to over 45 countries. The Black Hornet nanodrone allows soldiers to spy on dangerous areas without leaving cover.