Fourfinger threadfin has long been prized for its high value. In the past, its natural reproduction relied entirely on the tides, with survival rates under natural conditions dropping below 30 percent. Consequently, large-scale farming of the species was widely considered an insurmountable ecological challenge. Today, however, inside breeding workshops in Zhuhai's Jinwan District, fourfinger threadfin fry are being cultivated batch after batch in buckets and pools, emerging as Zhuhai's third "prosperity fish," following Baijiao sea bass and Jinwan yellowfin seabream.

In the fish breeding workshop of Longsheng Fishery in Jinwan District, Huang Shunmei—a deputy to the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress and general manager of Zhuhai Longsheng Fishery Technology Co., Ltd.—recounted her journey. Since moving from Chaozhou to Zhuhai in 2004, she has been deeply immersed in the aquaculture industry at the grassroots level. In 2008, she founded Zhuhai's first specialized company dedicated to breeding high-quality fish fry species. "In 2013, our team achieved a major breakthrough in the breeding technology for fourfinger threadfin fry, accomplishing full artificial, large-scale breeding of the species, followed by mass production in 2015," Huang recalled.

Driven by pioneers like Huang, the fourfinger threadfin has become a star product under Zhuhai's "100-1000-10000" Project (a key initiative for high-quality development targeting hundreds of counties, thousands of towns, and tens of thousands of villages). Over 300 local households in Zhuhai have boosted their income through threadfin farming, with the farmgate price remaining stable at 25 to 35 yuan per jin (about 0.5 kg). Currently, Zhuhai's threadfin farming area has expanded to nearly 5,000 mu (about 333 hectares), yielding an annual output of around 6,000 metric tons. In 2025, the total output value across the entire industrial chain exceeded 300 million yuan, with targets set for a 10,000-mu (about 667 hectares) base and an output value of 600 million yuan in 2026.

Huang holds a clear roadmap for the industry: from 2026 to 2027, she plans to expand the farming area in Zhuhai to over 10,000 mu (about 667 hectares), introduce and nurture a cluster of deep-processing enterprises, and develop a variety of new ready-to-cook threadfin products. The ultimate goal is to push the annual output value of the threadfin industry beyond 1 billion yuan, transforming it into a brand-new landmark for Zhuhai's fisheries industry.

珠海养出第三条“致富鱼”

马友鱼金贵，因为从前自然繁衍时全靠潮汐恩赐，自然条件下成活率不足三成。其规模化养殖长期被视为难以突破的生态难题。如今，在珠海金湾的育苗车间里，金湾马友鱼苗正被一桶桶、一池池地批量“养”出，成为继白蕉海鲈、金湾黄立鱼之后的“珠海第三条致富鱼”。

金湾区龙胜渔业育苗车间，省人大代表、珠海龙胜渔业科技有限公司总经理黄舜梅自2004年从潮州来到珠海，一直在塘头摸爬滚打。2008年，她创办珠海首家专业鱼苗良种繁育企业。“2013年，我们团队首次突破四指马鲅苗种繁育技术，实现了马友鱼的全人工规模化繁育，2015年实现苗种量化生产。”

在黄舜梅们的推动下，马友鱼已经成为珠海市“百千万工程”的“明星鱼”。珠海本地超300户农户靠马友鱼增收，塘头价每斤稳定在25元至35元。目前珠海马友鱼养殖面积已扩至约5000亩，年产量约6000吨，2025年全产业链产值突破3亿元，2026年瞄准万亩基地、6亿元产值。

黄舜梅的心里有一张产业路线图：2026年-2027年，计划在珠海推广养殖面积至10000亩以上，计划引进和培育一批深加工企业，开发多种马友鱼预制菜新产品。推动马友产业年产值达到10亿元以上，打造珠海渔业产业新名片。

文丨记者 许悦 孙牧 实习生 刘紫茵
图丨受访单位提供
翻译丨徐芷晴
审校丨曾敏