Adaptive cycle is a basic theory for understanding the continuity of complex systems, and it is more conductive to explain the nonlinear and uncertainty of the system. The case of the marine fishery industry ecosystem in coastal areas of China was selected. By using adaptive cycle theory, this paper divides the system into three adaptive cycles, a poverty trap and a plurality of adaptive cycle stages, revealing the problems of the adaptive cycle of the marine fishery industry ecosystem in China. The results are as follows. (1) Since 1949, Chinese marine fishery industry ecosystem has experienced successively the first anterior and middle stage of adaptive cycle (1949-1965), poverty dilemma (1966-1976), the second complete adaptive cycle (1977-1985) and the third anterior stage of adaptive cycle (1986-now). (2) Marine fishery industry, marine fishery ecological environment and marine fishery social environment were key factors to trigger the industry ecosystem from development (γ) to protection (κ), release (Ω), and renewal (α). (3) From the evolution of the adaptive cycle of the marine fishery industry ecosystem, the responses of the market demand and policy system were the main external panarchy forces to promote the system evolution, and the resource restriction became the internal driving force.