The ocean has considerable potential to function as a carbon sink, absorbing anthropogenic CO₂ and buffering the effects of climate change. How the culture of shellfish can be used to increase the ocean carbon sink warrants evaluation. We analyze the production and carbon sink capacity of six important mariculture shellfish species (oyster, ark clam, mussel, scallop, clam, and razor clam) in nine coastal provinces of China from 1981–2020 using quality assessment and logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) decomposition methods. Over this time period both cultured shellfish production and its contribution to the carbon sink generally increase, averaging approximately 600,000 t annually over the last four decades. Both the annual production and carbon sink capacity of China’s mariculture shellfish industry vary geographically. The total annual tonnage (scale) of cultured shellfish, and to a lesser extent, coastal shellfish species composition (structure) influence carbon sink capacity, and affect China’s plans to achieve “dual carbon goals.” Combining historical analysis and the LMDI method, we propose a scheme that optimally and more sustainably manages China’s culture of shellfish.

As aquaculture takes on a major role in global seafood production, the industry has encountered several hurdles, notably in disease management and overharvesting in natural habitats challenges. Vaccination is a critical component of immunological preventive strategy essential for the health management of animals. Over the past two decades, vaccines have revolutionized the sector by addressing these issues while enhancing productivity and ecological balance. Advanced vaccine technologies, including DNA, recombinant, and inactivated vaccines, have demonstrated their potential to transform aquaculture and sea ranching. Innovations like the recombinant DNA vaccine for goldfish using the G protein expressed by baculovirus for spring viremia for carp and the ME-VAC Aqua Strept vaccine for tilapia highlight their ability to reduce antibiotic dependence and support greener practices. Multivalent vaccines in salmon farming further showcase their effectiveness in improving fish health and productivity. Emerging solutions such as plant-based and mucosal vaccines offer scalable, cost-effective options for immunizing large fish populations, reducing disease-related losses, and stabilizing seafood supply chains. Vaccines also improve the survival rates of hatchery-reared fish in natural habitats, supporting long-term sustainability. By integrating vaccination with selective breeding for disease resistance, aquaculture can achieve enhanced productivity and reduced environmental impact. The article highlights the impact vaccines can have on technology leap forward and research cooperation that will allow for collective mobilization to prevent aquatic disease. Not only that, this review also discusses the challenges and opportunities of using vaccines to increase fish resilience for surviving in open waters. Emphasis on the transformative role of vaccines in enabling technological advancements, fostering research collaborations, and addressing economic and environmental challenges to ensure a sustainable future for aquaculture and sea ranching have been highlighted as well. Future research directions and economic implications of widespread vaccine adoption in aquaculture are also discussed.

Connectivity between fish stocks is fundamental to the understanding of population dynamics and the implementation of sustainable fisheries management. Otolith microchemistry is a promising tool as it can provide information on the continuous growth of otoliths and the environmental effects on otolith composition. Such elemental fingerprints can help distinguish different stocks or life history stages, identify the origins or nursery areas of fish, and assess population structure. In this study, we examined the stock discrimination and spatial connectivity of cage-cultured and wild stocks of yellowfin seabream (Acanthopagrus latus) from the coastal waters of Shantou, Yangjiang, and Zhanjiang in China southern province Guangdong during 2012-2014, based on otolith trace-elemental signatures using multivariate statistical analysis and machine learning approaches. The concentrations of 13 elements (7Li, 23Na, 24Mg, 40Ca, 55Mn, 56Fe, 59Co, 59Ni, 64Cu, 65Zn, 88Sr, 122Sb, and 137Ba) in the natal spot of fish otoliths, representing the embryonic and paralarval stages of fish, were analyzed using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Stepwise discriminant analysis and random forests were used to distinguish the cultured and wild stocks of yellowfin seabream, and non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and cluster analysis were used to determine the spatial variation and connectivity of yellowfin seabream stocks. Overall, the cultured and wild stocks of yellowfin seabream could be identified with classification accuracy of 80.7% and 99.2% by using stepwise discriminant analysis and random forests respectively. When we compared site difference between cultured and wild stocks (site × stock interactions), the classification success was 60.4% for stepwise discriminant analysis and 85.7% for random forests. The misclassification of cultured and wild stocks within the three sites suggested the spatial connectivity between stocks and among sampling locations. Our findings suggested that the three wild stocks of yellowfin seabream from Guangdong coastal waters could be considered as one unit for management, and the difference between cultured and wild stocks was significant for yellowfin seabream from Shantou and Yangjiang, but less significant for yellowfin seabream from Zhanjiang. This study demonstrated that otolith elemental fingerprints can help improve our knowledge on the spatial connectivity, population structure, and life history of fish stocks, and random forests can be a useful tool for identifying cultured and wild stocks compared to the traditional stepwise discriminant analysis.

China is one of the major mariculture countries for shellfish in the world and provides more than 70% of the total global shellfish production. However, there is limited knowledge of the potential driving factors of the ecosystem service value of mariculture shellfish in China. Understanding what factors and how they drive the ecosystem can provide reference for further improving the ecosystem service value of mariculture shellfish, which is both theoretically and practically important for promoting the development of marine fishery economy in China. In this study, data of six major mariculture shellfish species in nine coastal provinces of China from 2009 to 2020 were analyzed using a structural equation modeling approach to quantify the effects of resource distribution characteristics and market demand on the ecosystem service value of mariculture shellfish in China. The results indicated that both resource distribution characteristics and market demand are important driving factors of the ecosystem service value of mariculture shellfish in China. Specifically, from the perspective of path coefficient, market demand plays a more important role (0.58) than resource distribution characteristics (0.36) in influencing the ecosystem service value of mariculture shellfish in China. Therefore, the research results for shellfish marine culture can be summarized as: (1) to actively respond to changes in shellfish market demand, (2) to enhance development planning for coastal shellfish cultivation area, and (3) to strengthen systematic management of mariculture shellfish resources. Results of this study could provide theoretical support and serve as a basis for promoting sustainable development of shellfish culturing industry and fisheries economy in China.