Promoting or inhibiting? The impact of smart fishery on fishermen’s income in China’s marine fisheries

The development of marine fisheries is critical to China’s food security and national livelihoods, although many fishermen face limited income growth due to resource and operational constraints. Smart fishery technologies have the potential to transform production and increase fishermen’s income, yet their socio-economic impacts remain underexplored. Using panel data from China’s marine fisheries (2011–2023), this paper empirically examines the impact of fishery intelligence on fishermen’s income. The results show that fishery intelligence significantly increases income by promoting technological progress, improving talent quality, and enhancing ecological conditions. This positive effect is stronger in regions with higher levels of regional fisheries innovation. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that income growth is significant in southern regions, large-scale fisheries, and areas with high trade volumes, while it is insignificant in northern regions, small-scale operations, and areas with low trade volumes. These findings suggest that policymakers should prioritize smart fishery adoption, invest in training programs to enhance fishermen’s skills, support ecological management, and implement region-specific interventions to promote high-quality development in marine fisheries.