On May 31, the Forum of Aquatic Seed Industry Development of 2018 Global Aquaculture Summit was held in Xiamen. A certificate-award ceremony was also held with regard to new aquatic varieties announced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in 2018. SHOU won two certificates of new aquatic varieties, i.e. Hyriopsis cumingii “Shenzi No.1” (GS-01-011-2017) and Sinonovacula constricta “Shenzhe No.1” (GS-01-013-2017). Chen Jiayong, Director of the Aquaculture Office of the Fisheries Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and Hu Honglang, Deputy Chief of National Fisheries Technology Extension Center, respectively presented the certificates to professor Bai Zhiyi and Doctor Liu Xiaojun, research team representatives of SHOU.

Hyriopsis cumingii “Shenzi No.1” was developed after the breeding of five generations through supplementing mass selection with family selection. The most distinctive features of the variety lie in that its shell pearl is dark purple, that purple individuals account for a ratio of as high as 95.6%, and that the proportion of purple pearls has been increased by over 43.0%. In 2006, SHOU obtained the first new variety of freshwater pearl mussel, “Kangle Mussel”.Last year, professor Bai Zhiyi of SHOU became a scientist at the post of freshwater pearl shell germplasm resources and variety improvement of the national system of shellfish industry technology. Hyriopsis cumingii “Shenzi No.1” became the second new variety of freshwater pearl mussel in China. That is to say, “Kangle Mussel” and Hyriopsis cumingii “Shenzi No.1” are the only two new varieties of freshwater pearl mussel in our country, indicating that SHOU continues to lead the country in the field of researches on freshwater pearl mussel germplasm resources and variety improvement.

Sinonovacula constricta “Shenzhe No.1” was bred after the breeding of five generations according to the mass selection technology. Under the same aquaculture conditions, its shell length and body weight have been increased by over 17.4% and 38.2%, respectively. Sinonovacula constricta “Shenzhe No.1” was the first artificially-bred new marine aquaculture variety of SHOU, and the fifth new intertidal shellfish variety in China. This suggests that SHOU is about to rank among the top in China in the field of researches on intertidal shellfish germplasm resources and variety improvement as a firm step into the field of marine aquaculture.