On September 29, the launch meeting and first working meeting of the China Agriculture Research System (CARS) for Specialty Aquatic Products (hereinafter referred to as “the System”) were held in Qingdao. The event was organized by Academician Xue Changhu, chief scientist of the System, to convey the guiding principles set out at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs meeting on advancing the development of the CARS during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, introduce the development of the System, and discuss its work plans for 2026 and the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Jiang Qiubiao, Deputy Secretary of the CPC OUC Committee, attended the meeting.
Academician Xue Changhu presented the System’s development plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan period. He noted that the System focuses on specialty aquaculture species, including sea cucumbers, sea urchins, turtles, soft-shelled turtles, and frogs, and comprises one chief scientist, 18 post scientists, and 11 comprehensive experimental stations. The system will pursue coordinated research across the chain of breeding, feed, aquaculture, disease control, processing, and safety, facilitating the industry’s transition toward a new model featuring improved varieties, intelligent production, eco-friendly practices, higher quality, and standardization.
Yang Qin, a Level II Division Rank Official in the Science and Technology Planning Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, provided an in-depth interpretation of the guiding principles set out at the meeting on advancing the development of the CARS during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. She noted that developing the System is essential to implementing an “all-encompassing approach to food” and advancing the high-quality development of the fisheries sector. The System should focus on genuine challenges facing the industry, pursue substantive collaboration, integrate concrete research outcomes, and maintain standardized management. She expressed the hope that experts at all research posts and comprehensive experimental stations would strengthen coordination and work together to make the system a flagship in agricultural science and technology.
The opening ceremony was chaired by Yu Dehua, Secretary of the CPC Committee of OUC’s College of Food Science and Engineering. Representatives from the Bureau of Fisheries and the Department of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Shandong Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the National Fisheries Technology Extension Center, as well as experts representing the System’s research posts and comprehensive experimental stations, attended the meeting.
