Offshore aquaculture rafts in Ningde, Fujian province. [Photo/Mindong Daily]

Researchers in Ningde, East China's Fujian province, have developed a series of genomic breeding chips for large yellow croaker, a key aquaculture species, to improve disease resistance and breeding efficiency in the sector.

Development of the chip series began in 2016 through a collaboration between researchers at Xiamen University's College of Ocean and Earth Sciences and local aquaculture companies under what is now the State Key Laboratory of Mariculture Breeding.

The liquid-phase breeding chip, known as "GenoBaits Large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) SNP50K, GBLC 50K". [Photo/Xiamen University]

The laboratory identified disease-resistant broodstock in 2018 and began selective breeding. By 2019, survival rates among offspring had increased by 35.57 percent. At the end of 2021, the team developed a domestically produced liquid-phase breeding chip, known as "GenoBaits Large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) SNP50K, GBLC 50K".

Large yellow croaker fry. [Photo/Mindong Daily]

The breeding program forms part of a broader marine technology initiative in Ningde. To support the commercialization of marine technologies, Ningde established a marine innovation institute in 2025, focusing on marine environmental management, aquatic breeding, ecological aquaculture, and marine bio-industry research.