For Wen Xiaoyan, shipping live fish to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region not only confirms the product quality but could lead to further business opportunities.

Wen is the director of Santai Eco Fishery Ltd, based in Dongguan, Guangdong province. The company supplies 1 metric ton a day of jade perch, a medium-sized freshwater fish normally found in Australia, to high-end supermarkets in Hong Kong.

"If the product passes the quality and safety tests in Hong Kong, it will be much easier to pitch them in other areas of China," she said.