Make the water clearer and the fish more cheerful —— Protection of rare fish in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River
Xinhua News Agency, Chongqing, February 18th Title: Make the water clearer and the fish happier — — Protection of rare fish in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River
Xinhua News Agency reporters Zhang Guilin, Zhou Wenchong and Lin Bifeng
"In the past two years, there have been more and more fish in the river, and fish species that were rare in the past can often be monitored." Liu Hong, a fish keeper in Jiangjin section of the Yangtze River in Chongqing, stood at the stern and looked at the misty Yangtze River. From time to time, fish jumped out of the water.
The upper reaches of the Yangtze River are the spawning grounds and gene bank of germplasm resources of rare and endemic fish such as Yangtze sturgeon, mullet and rock carp. However, for a period of time, rare and endemic fish were once faced with survival crisis due to the destruction of ecological environment such as sewage discharge, overfishing, dredging and quarrying. In recent years, with the deepening of "joint protection and no development" in the Yangtze River basin, the ecological environment in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River has been greatly improved, the total amount of fish resources has been accelerated, and more and more rare and endemic fish have reappeared in the river.
The water is getting smoother and smoother, and rare fish are seen again.
"In the special monitoring carried out last year, we caught the national second-class protected wild animal rock carp almost every day. But a few years ago, I couldn’t get one in a year. " Since 2005, Yao Weizhi, director of the Fishery Resources and Environment Research Center of Southwest University, and his research team have been tracking and monitoring the fish resources in the national nature reserve of rare and endemic fish in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
Comparing the catch of a research fishing boat in one day is an important means for the research team to investigate the changes of fish resources. Yao Weizhi said that since the opening of the Yangtze River Protection in 2016, the total fish resources in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River have obviously recovered, the population structure has been improved, and the frequency of rare and endemic fish has also increased. Last year, the research team also found 33 Yangtze sturgeons in Dingjiatuo fish spawning ground in the Yangtze River.
The staff recorded the monitoring situation at the Yudong Ecological Observation Point in Zhenxiong County, Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province (photo taken on January 11, 2022). Xinhua News Agency reporter Lin Bifeng photo
In Chishui River, a tributary of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, rare and endemic fish also frequently appear. Walking into the ecological observation point of Yudong, Zhenxiong County, Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province, the slogan "Clear water every day, fish every year" was particularly eye-catching, and Yao Mingchang, a staff member, was busy recording the monitoring situation. At the beginning of 2022, four kinds of rare and endemic fish in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, namely Schizothorax kunming, Schizothorax szechuanensis, Cremastodon latissimus and Loach bainite, were observed at the Yudong ecological observation point.
Jia Shipeng, deputy director of the Yunnan Management and Protection Bureau of the National Nature Reserve for Rare and Endemic Fish in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, said that the number of fish species monitored in the Yunnan section of the Chishui River Basin has recovered from 36 in 2020 to 42 at present. Among them, the age of indicative species and dominant species groups such as Schizothorax Kunming and Hymenoptera yunnanensis is increasingly optimized, and the proportion of sexually mature fish in the catch is increasing; The number and proportion of medium-sized and large-sized fish sensitive to environmental pressure in the monitored catch increased significantly, "this shows that the recovery of fish biodiversity in the Yunnan section of Chishui River shows a good trend".
The return of rare and endemic fish is inseparable from the protection and restoration of fish habitats in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Since 2020, Zhaotong City has completely dismantled the dams of 17 small hydropower stations in Yunnan section of Chishui River, restored river connectivity, and made fish migration channels smoother.
Illegal docks and illegal sand mining, which pose a great threat to the spawning grounds of rare fish, have also been included in the focus of rectification. Wang Wei, director of the management office of Chongqing National Nature Reserve for Rare and Endemic Fish, said that in recent years, the Chongqing section of the reserve has regularly carried out work such as ship cleaning, net cleaning, Qingjiang River cleaning and shore cleaning, and timely curbed the illegal and illegal signs such as sewage discharge, shoreline occupation and river construction, and continued to maintain rectification results.
After years of continuous management and restoration, the upper reaches of the Yangtze River are now gradually showing a beautiful scene of birds flying and fish jumping and green scenery on the shore.
Fishing is forbidden to protect fish, and fish have a safe home.
Liu Hong (right), the captain of the Honghu Fish Protection Volunteer Team, led the team members to patrol the Jiangjin section of the Yangtze River in Chongqing (photo taken on September 2, 2022). Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Weishe
Liu Hong, who grew up along the Yangtze River, is now back on the Yangtze River. However, his status has changed from "fisherman" and ancient building repairer to "fish keeper".
On February 7, 2023, members of the Honghu Fish Protection Volunteer Team patrolled the Jiangjin section of the Yangtze River in Chongqing (photo of drone). Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Weishe
In 2014, with the support of the local government, Liu Hong set up the Honghu Fish Protection Volunteer Team to lead dozens of fishermen and volunteers to conduct voluntary inspections along the Yangtze River in Jiangjin, Chongqing, his hometown, to help law enforcement agencies stop illegal fishing. "In the years before the establishment of the fish protection volunteer team, criminals were rampant in electric fishing, and fishermen often failed to catch a few kilograms of fish a day." Liu Hong said.
Suijiang County, Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province launched a patrol operation against fishing (photo taken on December 31, 2020). Xinhua news agency
Overfishing was once an important factor endangering the survival of fish in the Yangtze River. To this end, as early as 2017, the Chishui River Basin took the lead in opening the no-fishing mode. Since January 2020, the national nature reserve of rare and endemic fish in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River has completely banned productive fishing. A year later, the "ten-year fishing ban" in key waters of the Yangtze River Basin was fully launched. The regulatory authorities in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River vigorously cracked down on illegal fishing, and fishermen along the Yangtze River retreated to shore one after another, making rare fish have a safer home.
In the Jiangjin section of the Yangtze River in Chongqing, the retired fishermen of the Honghu Fish Protection Volunteer Team took advantage of their familiarity with fish conditions and skillful sailing skills, and were responsible for water patrol and night patrol. The local regulatory authorities installed 25 video surveillance equipment on the riverbank, basically realizing the "synchronization of civil air defense technology and defense". In zhutuo town, Yongchuan District, Chongqing, the police office, law enforcement station and patrol station were jointly set up by the Yangtze River shipping public security, agricultural comprehensive administrative law enforcement and nature reserves to carry out normalized joint supervision, and illegal and criminal acts such as electric fishing and poaching were effectively curbed. In the main tributaries of Chishui River, no fishing and fish protection have also achieved grid management.
This is the scenery of Zhongba Island in Chongqing (photo taken on January 7, 2020, photo of drone). Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Yushe
Many residents of Zhongba Island, the first island where the Yangtze River enters Chongqing, have been fishing for generations. Today, all fishermen on the island have completed the retreat and changed production. Zhao Lianglu, a retired fisherman, planted sugar cane on the island and started a transportation business with an annual income of nearly 60,000 yuan. In May last year, Zhongba Island also established the Sichuan-Chongqing Judicial Cooperation Ecological Protection Base, a national nature reserve for rare and endemic fish in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Inter-provincial joint management mechanism has made the serious border waters stolen in the past a "safe haven" for rare fish.
The ecological awareness and the concept of rule of law of the people along the Yangtze River have also been constantly improved. Shen Rui, director of Zhenxiong Management and Protection Station of Yunnan Management and Protection Bureau, a national nature reserve for rare and endemic fish in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, said that since the launch of the "10-year ban on fishing", the management and protection station has made great efforts to strengthen the publicity of the ban on fishing and fishing, and jointly issued more than 200,000 copies of the "10-year ban on fishing" notice and posted notices of the ban on fishing in 14 towns and villages on both sides of the Chishui River. Ma Banghui, a 42-year-old villager from Cangshang Village, Hualang Township, Zhenxiong County, said that the village has formulated village rules and regulations to protect the Chishui River, and now it has become the conscious behavior of the masses to ban fishing and protect fish.
Breeding fish proliferates, allowing more rare fish to regenerate.
Despite the increasing protection, the existing populations of some rare and endemic fish in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River are still limited, and it is difficult for some fish to continue and expand their populations only by natural reproduction. In this regard, the government departments along the Yangtze River have cooperated with universities, colleges and leading enterprises to carry out artificial breeding of rare and endemic fish, and at the same time continue to increase the proliferation and release of rare fish to help them achieve new life.
This is the rare fish domestication base in the Three Gorges reservoir area (photo taken on February 25, 2022, drone photo). Xinhua News Agency reporter Tang Yushe
Chongqing Wanzhou Fisheries Research Institute, located in the Three Gorges reservoir area, successfully realized the artificial propagation of Myxocyprinus asiaticus in 1970s. After years of scientific research and practice, it has built a national original seed farm for Myxocyprinus asiaticus. Over the past 10 years, this research institute has put more than 70 million rare fry into the Three Gorges reservoir area. At present, Wanzhou Fisheries Research Institute reserves more than 100 parents of Acipenser Changjiang, a national first-class protected animal, and is strengthening research to further improve the artificial reproduction ability of Acipenser Changjiang and help its population recover.
The proliferation and release activities of Yunnan section of the national nature reserve for rare and endemic fish in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River were held in Shuifu City, Yunnan Province (photo taken on April 23, 2021). Xinhua news agency
"Proliferation and release can supplement and restore the population of fish resources, improve the fish population structure, and at the same time improve the level of biodiversity." Jia Shipeng introduced that since the establishment of the Yunnan Management and Protection Bureau of the National Nature Reserve for Rare and Endemic Fish in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River in 2019, a targeted plan for the proliferation and release of the reserve has been formulated, and 308,900 fry of national first-and second-class protected wild animals such as Yangtze sturgeon, mullet and Jinsha carp have been released, and 969,700 fry of Spinibarbus sinensis, Schizothorax Kunming and Yunnan smooth-lipped fish have been released.
This is an artificial fish nest photographed on the bank of Jiangjin section of the Yangtze River in Chongqing on February 7, 2023. Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Weishe
During the spawning period, artificial fish nests are also built in various places along the Yangtze River to provide places for fish to breed, grow and seek bait, so as to help restore fish resources. In 2021 and 2022, the management department respectively built 6,000 square meters and 7,000 square meters artificial fish nests in Shaonvping section of Xiangjiaba Reservoir Area in Shuifu City, Yunnan Province. The monitoring results show that in 2021, the actual number of eggs laid in artificial fish nests was more than 150 million, and in 2022, the number of eggs laid and the rate of hatching increased, effectively improving the population structure and quantity of wild fish. This year, Shuifu City has started to build the third batch of artificial fish nests.
After continuous clean water, fish protection and fish breeding, the recovery of some rare fish populations has gradually ushered in the dawn. In the Sanpaohe section of Jiangjin, Chongqing, the riverbank damaged by sand excavation and quarrying in the past has achieved remarkable results in natural restoration through recuperation in recent years. "With the improvement of ecological environment and hydrological conditions, it may become a wild spawning ground for rare fish such as Yangtze sturgeon in the future. We will continue to observe and prepare for the return of breeding groups." Yao Weizhi said.
Video reporters: Zhao Xiaoshuai, Lin Bifeng, Long Wu.
Poster design: Excellence