Students majoring in crayfish industry studies are in high demand thanks to soaring demand for the freshwater seafood, Chinanews.com reports.

Garlic flavored crayfish. [File Photo: IC]

The first batch of students at Jianghan Art Vocational College in Hubei Province with this specialist major have started industry internships as they begin their second year of study. The crayfish industry major was established in 2017.

Three courses are on offer, covering cooking, market promotion, and restaurant management. Even before their graduation, the students have been offered jobs with average wages of 10,000 yuan a month (1,500 U.S. dollars).

Students being taught how to cook crayfish at Jianghan Art Vocational College in Hubei Province, the home of China's first crayfish industry major, on June 13, 2018. [File Photo: IC]

Crayfish have become a hugely popular food in China, especially among 20 to 39 years old, according to a 2017 industry report. Official data shows that one million ton of crayfish worth over 260 billion yuan were consumed that year. Crayfish from China are also making their way overseas: 100,000 crayfish were delivered to Moscow by train to be served during last year's World Cup.

The development of the crayfish industry has been hindered by a lack of processing capacity and mature processing techniques. The crayfish industry major was established as a response to this bottleneck.