Recommendations on Two Sessions Motions/Proposals: Fishing in Yellow River be Banned for 20 Years
2021/3/17 15:34:00 本站

Reasons for the proposed 20-year ban on fishing in the Yellow River:

The Yellow River is the mother river of the Chinese nation and the cradle of Chinese civilization. With a total length of 5,464 kilometers and a drainage area of nearly 760,000 square kilometers, it is the second longest river in China and one of the largest rivers in the world.

The Yellow River has bred 5,000-year Chinese civilization and has been developed and utilized for thousands of years. The aquatic resources in it have been fished for thousands of years; what’s more, in the last half century, with the explosive increase of population in the Yellow River Basin and rapid economic growth, its fish resources have been damaged to the extent that there is nearly no fish to catch, and the impoverishment of its fishery resources is no worse than that of the Yangtze River.

The urgency of years-long fishing ban in the Yellow River
In the 1980s, 191 species of fish were found in the Yellow River system and more than 120 species were found in its main stream, but the numbers fell to just over 80 kinds by the beginning of this century! In the past 30 years, the number of fish resources in the Yellow River has decreased by about half, and the number of indigenous rare and protected fish resources has decreased by 60%. It is unclear that how many kinds of fish are there in the Yellow River! In the 1980s and 1990s, the fish resources in the Yellow River have been threatened with exhaustion. After more than 30 years of high-intensity fishing, the Yellow River fishery resources are in danger and it is fair to say that no fish can be caught!

Hydropower project, water cut-off and water pollution are the major reasons for the reduction of fish resources in the Yellow River, while overfishing is the direct reason for the extinction of fishery resources. Fishing at will regardless of location and species, fishing in breeding season, using destructive fishing manners such as electrofishing, poisoning and compactly meshed fishing nets, are the main culprits of overfishing. The depletion of fishery resources will bring great damage to the ecology of the Yellow River, including a series of unexpected impacts on aquatic vegetation, birds, insects, amphibians and reptiles, and water quality.

In 2018, the Yellow River Basin began to implement a three-month fishing ban from April 1 to June 30 every year. However, the time of fishing ban is too short for protection. After thousands of years of development and reclamation, hundreds of years of construction and utilization, and decades of crazy fishing in the whole Yellow River Basin, a three-month fishing ban is just like a drop in the bucket.

The feasibility of years-long fishing ban in the Yellow River

The Yangtze River Basin has entered a ten-year fishing ban period since January 1, 2021, which not only brings practical effect on the restoration of the ecology, but also plays a demonstrative role in the annual fishing ban of the Yellow River and the restoration of the ecology of the Yellow River.

At present, the annual catch of aquatic products in the Yellow River Basin is only 65,000 tons, which is more than 80% lower than 30 years ago. And this fishing volume only accounts for one thousandth of the country's 65 million tons of aquatic products a year. The output of aquatic products in the Yellow River is negligible in the national aquatic product supply chain and the ban on fishing in the Yellow River Basin has little impact on the national aquatic product sales.

The number of people engaged in fishing in the Yellow River Basin is far less than that in the Yangtze River Basin, which means that the total relief funds for fishermen in the Yellow River Basin is less than that in the Yangtze River Basin, and the employment pressure for fishermen is also far less. Due to the limitation of resource growth caused by geography and climate, fishermen in the Yellow River Basin are far less dependent on fishing in the Yellow River than those in the Yangtze River.

The necessity of 20-year fishing ban in the Yellow River for 20 years

The Yellow River is located in the north of China, with lower temperatures, less rainfall, and drier conditions; most of the River runs across Loess Plateau, therefore, the Yellow River is ecologically vulnerable with low and complex processes of restoration. In addition, the fishery resources in the Yellow River Basin are more risked than those in the Yangtze River Basin with longer period of development and utilization; hence, the fishing ban in the Yellow River Basin should be longer than that in the Yangtze River Basin. The current fishing ban in the Yangtze River Basin is 10 years, and we think that the fishing ban in the Yellow River Basin should be no shorter than 20 years. 

It is suggested that:

1. The fishing ban should be extended to the whole river basin for 20 years to restore its ecosystem diversity and promote high-quality development;

2. Management should be extended after 20 year fishing ban. After 20 years, it is hoped that a new management regulation will be made for the aquatic fish resources in the Yellow River Basin.

Whether it is a ten-year or twenty-year ban on fishing, the aim is to restore the fish resources of the Yellow River. After the restoration, we should protect the fish resources permanently and protect the species from extinction. If we finally exterminate all the wild fish species one by one, it will really cut off the way for the survival and development of human beings and shun away from our responsibility for our descendants and mother earth.

 

Translator/WL

 

Original Chinese article

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/nMD63LYe_ElIKARSBQhfIg

 

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