June 25 is the Dragon Boat Festival, but the fishing protection of the Songhua River did not stop. On the morning of the day, a joint action team of more than 30 people, composed of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) volunteers, Harbin Public Security Bureau Food, Drug and Environment Branch, insisted on continuously cleaning illegal fishing tools in a section of the Songhua River in Harbin, and intercepted an illegal fishing boat at the scene.

On the river surface three kilometers west of the Shifangtai Bridge in the Songbei area, the fish protection team discovered a large number of illegal fishing tools during the patrol.

"There are 5-6 ground cages, and one at least 20 meters long. This area is obviously too much," the team said. The reason for the large number of illegal fishing gears here is directly related to the two fishing sheds standing near the water. It is estimated that these illegal fishing gears were installed by the people in these fishing sheds.

The personnel of the fish protection team pulled up and cut with a sickle. While cleaned up illegal fishing gears, they discovered that this wetland along the river was is also a relatively important habitat for waterbirds in the local area. There were traces of red-crowned cranes and hagdon in the wetland.

And another illegal fishing boat that was threw the net in the Songbei area was intercepted by the joint operation team. After inquiries, it turned out that tourists went to the river to use an illegal fishing gear during the holiday, not a specialized fishing staff. So, after educating and criticizing them, the action team released the boat.

On the 25th, according to rough statistics of the joint action team, a total of more than 160 fishing nets were cleared in the Songbei area watershed of the Songhua River. On this day, volunteers and the Food, Drug and Environment Brand cleared nearly 6,000 meters of illegal fishing gears. In some illegal fishing gears that has been cleared, there will be some catches. The joint operations team usually put the rescued fish back into the river. The catches released to the river on that day totaled about a thousand jin, including a rare local fish.

(Photo credit: CBCGDF volunteers)

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Original Chinese article:

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Vk7tLyjOP4DgJ_7lV3Zd9A

By / Maggie