Dafu Bay Recreational Fishing Village occupies 3.33 hectares of land and serves as a comprehensive resort with food, accommodation, fishing and tourism facilities. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The General Office of the Ministry of Agriculture recently announced the first list of national model recreational fishing bases. Dafu Bay Recreational Fishing Village in the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone made the list, along with four others in Fujian province, Pingtan Times reported.

Recreational fishing is a new fishing industry that enjoys the advantages of both the fishing and leisure tourism industries. Dafu Bay Recreational Fishing Village occupies 3.33 hectares of land and serves as a comprehensive resort with food, accommodation, fishing and tourism facilities. The village has won several honorary titles, including "Provincial Recreational Fishing Model Base" and "Fuzhou Key Agricultural Enterprise".

"Aodong town, where the base is located, is rich in fishery resources and adjacent to General Mountain and Tannan Bay, providing unlimited possibilities for recreational fishery development," said Lin Zhengbin, chairman of Dafu Maritime Development Company.

Since the opening of the Cross-Straits Bridge in the pilot zone, more people have come to the village for business visits, vacation tours and summer camps. Annual visits reached 50,000 in 2012.

Lin said they will combine fishing with recreational entertainment, tourism, ecological development and cultural inheritance to develop the base. He sees a promising future for the village.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Michael Thai