Chinese scientists have applied domestic satellite navigation technology on ancient sea turtles to collect data and enhance the protection of this endangered species.
On a beach in Huidong County of south China's Guangdong Province, scientists were releasing 200 sea turtles back into their natural habitat, including 100 turtles that were raised in human care.
These efforts are the culmination of years of work by the Huidong National Sea Turtle Nature Reserve, combining field rescue with artificial breeding to help revive China's sea turtle population, which has been threatened by overfishing and habitat loss.
This year, a Chinese-developed sea turtle satellite tracker -- powered by the country's Beidou Navigation System -- has been applied on these turtles for the first time.
"This is a brand-new device, made right here in China. It doesn't use an external antenna like some foreign models, so it won't break when the turtle rests underwater, in which case we won't be able to receive the data," said Xia Zhongrong, a senior engineer at the Huidong National Sea Turtle Nature Reserve.
The tracker is equipped with underwater sensors, smart computing technology and ultra-low power communication device, all operating through China's Beidou satellites.
"With Beidou's positioning and short-message communication technologies, we can get data even when there are no ground stations," said He Shuqian, head of Sea Turtle Research Team at Hainan Normal University.
The new technology is also eco-friendly, as the scientists used a green, non-toxic adhesive to attach the trackers, minimizing the impact on both the turtles and the ocean.
Satellite tracking is one of the most effective methods to study sea turtle migration routes. The data collected will help scientists better understand their feeding grounds, migration patterns, and the best strategies for protecting these creatures.
China protects ancient sea turtles with domestic satellite navigation technology
China has made new progress in the high-quality development of its marine economy, with the ocean increasingly serving as a new driver of growth, Minister of Natural Resources Guan Zhi'ou said in Beijing on Thursday.
Guan briefed the media on China's new achievements in marine development, utilization and protection in a ministerial interview after the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, in Beijing.
"In 2025, the gross ocean product exceeded 11 trillion yuan (about 1.60 trillion U.S. dollars), accounting for 7.9 percent of GDP. Industries such as shipbuilding and offshore engineering equipment, offshore wind power, and marine fisheries rank among the top in the world. Marine drugs independently developed by China accounted for 28 percent of the global market share, while output value from marine energy and seawater desalination continued to expand. In order to make our ocean more beautiful and better protect the marine environment, we have always been committed to strictly controlling new land reclamation from the sea, with the retention rate of natural coastline exceeding 35 percent. The mangrove area has reached 4.75 million mu (about 316,666.67 hectares), maintaining a continuous growth momentum. We established the Huangyan Dao national nature reserve to strengthen the protection and restoration of important ecosystems such as coral reefs," he said.
Guan said China's blue circle of friends continues to expand. The country has become one of the first signatories to the agreement on marine biodiversity conservation, and has signed blue economy cooperation agreements with more than 50 countries and international organizations, while also conducting joint polar and ocean scientific expeditions with multiple countries.
Those achievements demonstrate not only industrial expansion, but also a stronger emphasis on ecological stewardship and openness to international cooperation, and the next stage will focus on consolidating existing gains while aligning with the goals and tasks set out in the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), the minister said.
"On the basis of consolidating the above achievements, we will, in accordance with the goals and tasks set out in the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), accelerate the high-quality development of the marine economy. In practice, we will place greater emphasis on innovation-driven growth by launching and implementing major national science and technology programs to comprehensively enhance deep-sea sensing, exploration and development capabilities. We will pay more attention to efficient coordination by further optimizing the spatial layout of major bays through integrated land-sea planning and building new growth poles. Industrial upgrading will be stepped up by vigorously developing emerging sectors such as deep-sea equipment and the blue medicine bank and fostering new engines of growth," Guan said.
"We will also place more emphasis on harmony between people and the sea, carefully safeguard blue sea and silver beaches, and make cruise travel and sea fishing new trends in cultural tourism consumption. More attention will be paid to win-win cooperation by expanding marine cultural exchanges to build a community with a shared future for the ocean," he said.
China continues to advance high-quality development of marine economy: minister
