[2] This article is dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the promulgation of the Administrative Procedure Law and its first major revision!

Part One: "Tuhao" Guo Moumou and His "Sea Palace"

[2] 2. Sea Fish Raft: The "One Acre of Land" for Sea Dwellers

[3] As the saying goes, those living near mountains rely on mountains, and those living near the sea rely on the sea. Humans always prioritize meeting survival needs first. Generations living by the coast have little land for farming, so the sea becomes their main source of livelihood. However, with the gradual depletion of offshore fishery resources, traditional fishing alone can no longer sustain sea dwellers. Thus, mariculture technology emerged, and fish rafts, aside from boats, became their most important production tools.

[4] A fish raft is made by nailing sturdy, durable wood into two-meter-square grids. Four grids form a "field" shape, and more grids combine into a "raft." Floating devices (now commonly plastic buoys) are tied to the wooden grids, keeping them afloat on the sea surface. Below the grids, fishing nets supported by thin iron rods are fixed, containing fish and other seafood. This is the cage culture technology widely used along China's coast. So, if you travel along China's long coastline, you'll see large-scale fish rafts in many places, stretching like endless fields, forming a unique and spectacular coastal landscape.

[5] Figure 3: Large-scale fish raft with single aquaculture function (Image source: Internet)

[6] On the fish raft, there are simple wooden huts originally used by fishermen for guarding fish and staying overnight. As raft-building technology advanced and scale expanded, the huts became sturdier and more complex, some allowing fishermen's families to live long-term, turning the raft into a true sea home. Later, with the popularity of the "agritainment" business model integrating tourism, dining, picking, and leisure on land, sea fish rafts added functions like sea sightseeing, seafood tasting, and fishing beyond single aquaculture, becoming a new model for marine economy. This increased sea dwellers' income while offering rare material and spiritual enjoyment to sea-view tourists, creating substantial material and spiritual wealth for society. Looking back, this progress seems natural and inevitable. However, as a special case of such innovation's birth and development, the creation and later fate of the "Sea Palace" tell us that innovation is often very difficult, sometimes even dangerous. This is a story for later, set aside for now.

Figure 4: Red lanterns hanging high over a sea "farm stay" (perhaps "fisherman's stay" would be more fitting!) (Image source: Internet)

　　(待续)