LINQU XIAN, Shandong Province, China – China is a place of massive proportions, from its population to its manufacturing output and economic growth. But in many cases, including seafood production, the giant whole is made up of many small parts. And some of the small parts are surprising.

Case in point is Longmen Fishery Ltd., a privately owned fish farm that raises a brilliant golden rainbow trout, and those of the standard hue, plus sturgeon and carp.

Compared with Maine’s fledgling aquaculture industry, the Chinese industry is very well-developed, and large.

Qingdao, the provincial capital, is home to hundreds of Chinese and international processing plants. Massive saltwater aquaculture facilities raising abalone, sea cucumbers, flounder and many other species are sprinkled along its coastlines. More than 75 miles away, southward from the nearest saltwater of the Bay of Bohai, amid rolling hills blanketed by rows of terrestrial crops, Longmen Fishery Ltd., is the largest of 160 small fish farms surrounding the regional hub of Weifang.

The Longmen facilities cover 500 square meters including concrete grow-out ponds and plastic tanks where juveniles are nurtured, explained manager Feng Chun, through a translator. With a crew of six employees, Feng’s annual production of 40,000 kilograms (88,185 pounds) serves restaurant and grocery markets from Shanghai to Beijing, with occasional sales as far off as Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Longmen also serves a local retail and wholesale clientele, including patrons of its onsite restaurant. Tanks full of the day’s still-swimming fare are standard in any respectable Chinese seafood restaurant. Patrons of Longmen can be assured of the freshness of their meals as they watch 4-foot-long sturgeon, ridged backs occasionally breaking the water’s surface, glide ominously through a concrete tank that runs from the center of the dining hall, beneath a glass wall, to the otherwise outdoor farm facilities.

A secure, clean water supply is the anchor holding the Linqu Xian fish farms in place. Springs that flow at a year-round 17-18 degrees Celsius (62.5-64.4 Fahrenheit) and wells as shallow as three meters serve the region’s farms. Unlike many shore-based aquaculture facilities on the Shandong coast that use seawater, the water flowing continually through the Longmen tanks needs no pollution filtration, according to Feng, who has run the farm for 17 years.

“Because the water is very good for fish it only takes an average of 10 months to grow to market weight,” he said of his trout. Depending on market conditions, golden trout fetch the equivalent of $1.03 per pound, sold at 1-2 kilogram weights. Standard rainbows bring $1.01 per pound.

“The golden trout tastes more delicious than the normal trout,” Feng said, possibly acknowledging the importance of appearance in Chinese cuisine.

The water, and what Feng said is a high-quality “fish bone meal” feed manufactured in Qingdao, allow him to grow the trout to market size using no more than 600 kilograms (1.3 pounds) per fish. “If we take very good brand feed, even 500 grams is enough because the atmosphere is quite good to grow,” he said in response to repeated questions on the point.

Longmen acquired its original stocks of golden trout from North Korea through China’s “special relationship” with the otherwise isolated country and has been raising them for more than 10 years, according to Feng. His other rainbows came from Chinese, Korean and U.S. suppliers, but all of his trout operations have been self-sufficient for several years.

Rainbows comprise two-thirds of Longmen’s annual production and sturgeon most of the rest. Although it takes up to six years for sturgeon to reach the 25-kilogram (55-pound) size demanded for special occasions by some of his Shanghai buyers, they are worth the wait.

“It has a large market demand and we make more profit for the owner. Many people want to eat the fish,” Feng said. Most, however, reach 1-kilogram market size within a year. His sturgeon wholesale for $2.02 per pound

Carp, which seem to live in every pond and fountain in China, are Longmen’s worker fish. Their normal price is about 56 cents per pound, though recent production shortages have raised the market to 90 cents per pound. He produces about 2,200 pounds a year, but the bottom feeders keep the grow-out ponds, where trout also live, clean.

“He can clear some rubbish,” Feng said. Helped by the flowing spring water and the human staff, they do their jobs well. From appearances, the tanks were as clean as any aquarium.

Longmen’s tanks are never emptied and harvest is continual through the year. During this reporter’s three-hour visit, several buyers bought small volumes of a few fish each.

Bob Tkacz is a senior correspondent for the Alaska Fisherman’s Journal.