Meiling Oysters

Meiling Oysters

Meiling Oysters is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　    Meiling Oysters

　　    Meiling Town Aquaculture Association, Zhao’an County

　　    Meiling Town is located at the border of Fujian and Guangdong provinces, surrounded by sea on three sides, with 125,000 mu of shallow beach areas. Oyster farming is a pillar industry in the town. In the past, local residents farmed oysters in shallow seas using the traditional method of placing them among triangular stone strips. This method resulted in low yield, high costs, and poor returns. In 1995, Tian Zhenxu, an oyster farmer from Tiancuo Village, ventured into deeper waters and adopted technologies such as wooden pile longline suspended culture and floating longline culture to farm oysters in deep-sea areas resistant to wind and waves. This achieved a cost-benefit ratio of 1:4. Since then, the oyster farming area in the village has continuously expanded from the original thousand-plus acres to over 20,000 acres, achieving high yield, premium quality, and efficiency.

　　    At the same time, farmers from villages like Xialiao and Lincuo boldly explored new methods, consulted experts, and hired technicians from the Tong’an Aquaculture Department in Xiamen and local aquaculture specialists as technical advisors for their farms. They transitioned from the traditional stone strip farming method to a new technique using discarded oyster shells for spat attachment in suspended culture. This change proved successful. Currently, the town has four discarded oyster shell spat attachment facilities, providing high-quality oyster seedlings for local farmers.

　　    The rapid development of suspended oyster farming increased the demand for rubberized longlines. In the past, all sizes of these lines were purchased from outside the region, raising costs for farmers and sometimes delaying deployment due to supply shortages. To address this, the town encouraged locals to establish plastic rubberized line processing plants to ensure supply for farmers.

　　    Today, the town has over ten oyster processing facilities, more than 60 oyster shucking shops, and a complete industrial chain that includes oyster seedling farms, plastic rubberized line production, oyster harvesting teams, and oyster shell processing.