Valuation of ecosystem service of marine ranching in Zhelin Bay

We evaluated the value of ecosystem service before and after the construction of marine ranching in Zhelin Bay by using the theory of ecosystem service. Besides, we investigated the spatial distribution characteristics of ecosystem service value in different functional areas, such as cage culture area, seaweed culture area, shellfish farming area, artificial reef area as well as enhancement and release area using ArcGIS. The results show that the ecosystem service value of Zhelin Bay marine ranching had increased from 586.13 million CNY to 673.70 million CNY during 2011−2013. However, the value structure did not change significantly, showing the highest value of provisioning service, followed by cultural service value, and relatively low value of regulating service. The spatial distribution characteristics of different functional areas in Zhelin Bay marine ranching are roughly as follows: cage culture area>seaweed culture area>shellfish farming area>artificial reef area>enhancement and release area.