The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Resilience of China’s Fisheries Industry Chain: Evidence from Panel Data Analysis

Marine fisheries are a cornerstone of food security, and artificial intelligence (AI) technology holds significant strategic importance for enhancing fishery industrial chain resilience. This study utilizes provincial panel data from China covering the period 2010–2024 to assess the level of fishery industrial chain resilience across 29 provinces (excluding Qinghai, Tibet, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan), and employs a two-way fixed-effects model to investigate the mechanisms through which AI influences the resilience of the fisheries industry chain. The findings reveal the following: (1) AI has a significant positive impact on the resilience of the fisheries industry chain. For every one-unit increase in AI development level, the fishery industrial chain resilience increases by 0.470 units; (2) AI enhances fishery industrial chain resilience by promoting structural upgrades in the fisheries industry and improving resource allocation efficiency; (3) heterogeneity analysis indicates that the enabling effects of AI are more pronounced in samples characterized by well-developed digital infrastructure, a higher level of digital economic development, and those located in the eastern regions. This study provides new empirical evidence for understanding how AI empowers the resilience of the fisheries industry chain, and holds significant theoretical and practical value for formulating fisheries science and technology policies tailored to local conditions and for safeguarding national food security.