This system is China's first world-class agricultural cultural heritage project in aquaculture.
CCTV+
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has announced the inclusion of the Zhejiang Deqing Freshwater Pearl Mussel Composite Fishery System (China) in the list of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) for 2025.
Regional farmers have made the "Deqing Pearl System" possible, an 800-year-old integrated fish and mussel farming system that combines aquaculture, agriculture, and craftsmanship. It is the earliest-recorded area for freshwater pearl farming and China's first world-class agricultural cultural heritage project in aquaculture.
According to China Central Television (CCTV), through this cultivation, the fish's leftover feed and waste cultivate phytoplankton and algae, which feed the mussels that produce pearls and purify the water.
Previously, in 2017, this system was officially recognized as China's Important Agricultural Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and in 2019, it was included in the GIAHS Preparatory List.
"As China's first GIAHS project in aquaculture, the Deqing Pearl System builds a new bridge for Chinese traditional agricultural wisdom to reach the global stage and has exemplary significance," explained Head of the Expert Committee on GIAHS under the Ministry, Min Qingwen.
Additionally, Director of the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment at FAO, Kaveh Zahedi, said: "In the context of the increasing impacts of climate variability and extreme weather events on agriculture and farmers, as well as the loss of biodiversity, these systems are bright spots that demonstrate how communities can turn to ancestral knowledge systems and practices to bring food to the table, protect jobs and livelihoods, and sustain unique and sustainable agricultural territories."
