Liu Hong, who grew up by the Yangtze River, is the boss of a local construction company. But his other identity seems to be more famous-the captain of the Honghu Huyu volunteer team in Jiangjin District, Chongqing.

  Because he hated the illegal electric fish in the Yangtze River, Liu Hong formed this private fish protection volunteer team 6 years ago and started a “Yangtze River Defence War”: they had no wages and brought their own equipment, guarding the Yangtze River fish around the clock and cracking the Yangtze River. There are more than 1,000 illegal fishing cases, and hundreds of illegal fishermen have been sent to prison.

  At the same time, this fish protection volunteer team has also become a nail in the eyes and a thorn in the meat of the illegal fishermen-there are artificial rumours, some people threaten to intimidate, and others beat them to the head. The contributions of the fish-guards are sometimes not understood, and they even have to live in malicious "rumors".

  However, "there is no way out on the battlefield", especially "deep love for the mother river of the Yangtze River", which made them resolutely choose to stick to it. It is under their protection that the local Yangtze sturgeon, baby fish and other rare Yangtze river aquatic animals thrive...

Turn around

  Located in the natural river section 115 kilometers above the Jiangjin Luodidi Yangtze River Bridge, with sufficient oxygen and rapid water flow, it is the home of rare aquatic animals such as Yangtze sturgeon and baby fish. In April 2005, the State Council approved the establishment of a national nature reserve for rare and endemic fish in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and included this natural river section.

  Liu Hong’s home is in Youxi Township, a nature reserve. From the time of memorizing, he has formed an indissoluble bond with the Yangtze River, and also carries a good memory of his childhood.

  "When I was a kid, there was a boat in my house. He likes to fish with his brother. Every time he harvests a lot." During the speech, Liu Hong suddenly lowered his tone. "About 2000, the nightmare of fish in the Yangtze River began."

  "People who illegally fish electric fish do not distinguish between day and night, and this has been removed." When the lifelong fisherman Huang Daming took over the words, "There are more than 200 electric fish boats in Guangjiangjin District, and four or five hundred are illegal. There are both fishermen and social personnel. At that time, the management department had limited manpower and lacked equipment. Even in the case of law enforcement boat inspections, the electricity fish people were still in a hurry, because the law enforcement boat could not travel in shallow waters, and even could not catch up. Power on the fish boat."

  Seeing that the fish in the Yangtze River is almost electro-optical, Liu Hong, who has some savings in the construction business, took the lead in forming the Yangtze River Fish Volunteer Team in March 2014 and vowed to be incompatible with those illegal fishers.

  The local fishermen could not catch fish in the river, and the rice bowls on which they lived were smashed. Their hatred for the electric fishermen can be imagined. Liu Hongyi called for 22 members to join immediately, most of whom were local fishermen.

  Cheng Yongbin, a 52-year-old player, recalled, "At that time, there was no more fish in the river. Our fishermen went out to fish normally, and we couldn't hit a few pounds a day."

  From fishing to protecting fish, Liu Hong and his team members did not turn around gorgeously, or even a little bit difficult: they drove their fishing boats, patrolling the river regardless of the severe cold and heat, and consumed seven or eight hundred yuan of fuel every day, and Illegal fishermen carry out thrilling "battles".

Contest

  In the natural river section of hundreds of kilometers in Jiangjin, the private fish protection team launched a fierce "encounter battle" with illegal fishermen. There was no slight buffer in the middle, which shows the rampant illegal fishing activities.

  On May 14, 2014, "We carried out breeding and release on the riverside. In order to prevent people from catching fry, we asked the fish protection team to patrol. This is the first time Liu Hong opened the boat to protect the fish, but was hit by the boat. Jiang Li is here." Li Rong, a fourth-level investigator of the Jiangjin District Agricultural Comprehensive Law Enforcement Detachment, has a fresh memory of the scene.

  At more than 2 pm that day, Liu Hong drove a 7.6-meter-long, 40-horsepower gasoline boat alone on the river. Soon, he found that two people drove a diesel boat and blatantly fished near the breeding release.

  "Look at the video I took out of my mobile phone, and the other party ran away from the boat." Looking back at the scene, Liu Hong was still very excited: "I chased 8 kilometers and finally forced their boat to the shore. Unexpectedly, this 11-meter ship The long diesel boat suddenly crashed into a frenzy. I stumbled from the boat and fell into the river. Fortunately, in the moment of falling into the water, I grabbed the ship's side.

  The other party saw that Liu Hong was tall and burly, and his skill was so sturdy and agile, and he didn't know the details at the moment. The person at the bow jumped away and fled, and the person at the stern caught.

  Liu Hong seized electric fish tools and catches on the spot, and handed over illegal electric fish to the local fishery administration. Later, the associate of the electric fisherman who abandoned the boat and ran away also surrendered himself.

  Being able to personally bring illegal fishermen to justice has made Liu Hong feel that folk fish protection is very promising. At that time, the escort team had just been established, and many of the personnel were not in place. He realized that it was too dangerous for him alone, so he took the company’s employees to patrol the ship.

  Each fish protection operation is a comprehensive contest with illegal fishermen. In addition to being capable, the equipment must also be well-equipped, so that it will have combat effectiveness.

  In order to make the fish protection boat more sturdy and faster, they have carried out several upgrades and upgrades-the hull from iron plate to stainless steel, and then the rubber sheet, aluminum alloy; the engine from 30 horsepower to 40 horsepower, and then to the later 60 horsepower, 90 horsepower.

  "As long as the electric fish boat is updated, we will follow the upgrade. If the fish protection boat is not advanced, we can only watch people doing things." Liu Hong said that the cost of changing the engine is more than 100,000 yuan. All the money is made by myself.

"Arrests"

  Cracking down on illegal fishermen often requires stolen goods. Liu Hong and the team members are all old fishermen, who understand the Yangtze River and are familiar with water.

  In the evening of July 2, the Jiangjiang and Qijiang rivers in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River suddenly experienced heavy rain, the water level rose, and the river was muddy. This was a good opportunity for illegal fishing and the busiest time for the fish protection team. Two fish protection boats sailed towards the choppy protected area.

  "Go out to collect the net today! If you are lucky, you can still catch illegal fishermen." Liu Hong confidently told reporters on board. "At this time of year, the riverside is covered with cage nets. The all-you-can-eat "Unknown Network" is very harmful to Jiangyu."

  The speedboat traveled along the river bank against the water, and Su Chun and Chen Liang watched the shore alertly. In a thick grass, they found that more than 10 ground cage nets were laid on the bottom of the river, and only fine meshes and lines were exposed on the shore.

  "Sometimes someone will come to collect the net! You get off the boat and squat in the grass. When you see someone close the net, take a picture, record a video, and then call us, everyone will come to catch people!" Liu Hong said to the 25-year-old guy Chen Liang.

  Chen Liang quickly jumped off the ship and hid in the grass on the shore. The fish protection boat traveled another 5 kilometers. Su Chun suddenly drove the boat to the river bank, and then jumped from the boat to the bank without waiting for the boat to stop. By the time the reporter's speedboat approached, he had already caught someone.

  It turned out that this guy had just got out of the ground cage net in the river, and saw the fish-protection boat come around and ran away. Unexpectedly, Su Chun's eyes were fast and he caught him in a few steps.

  The illegal fisherman was arrested and had to put away the cage nets honestly and pile them up on the speedboat, then sitting in the stern behind the reporter wearing a life jacket. At this time, Liu Hong's phone rang, and inside came Chen Liang's rapid voice: "Come over here, I've caught one here!"

  "Su Chun, there is a situation at Chen Liang!" Liu Hong's words didn't fall, the ship had turned around, and then he kicked the throttle and the ship flew out with a whizz. Su Chun's boat drove faster and left us behind.

  A few minutes later, Chen Liang and Su Chun had captured a naked man. Seeing that he could not escape, the man was cooperating with the fish protection team to collect the net cage in the river.

  One, two... more than 10 ground cage nets are exposed on the river. There are fish and shrimp in the airtight fishing nets, some fish and shrimp have died, and there is a rare and dead fish called rock carp.

  The speedboat carrying illegal fishermen and seized fishing nets and catches quickly drove towards the downstream dock of Youxi Town. Under the witness of the reporter, the two illegal fishermen were taken away by the local police.

  "Over the past six years, we have handled thousands of cases and arrested one or two thousand people. We have summed up our experience long ago: we must fix the evidence, catch people, and ensure the safety of the other party. There must be no accidents." Liu Hong said that sometimes in extreme situations, such as illegal fishermen jumping off the river to escape, the fish protection team members must follow the jump to rescue them from the river.

  For the fish protection team members, the most difficult thing to deal with is not to catch people, but to break through the "relationship network" connected to the fishing net. During the handling of these two cases, Liu Hong's phone kept ringing, for a while the leader of this department came to plead, and for a while the leader of the other department was let go.

  "This is the norm." Liu Hong said to the reporter with a bitter smile. "In June this year, we handled 15 cases, and more than 30% of those arrested are related."

  One day in 2016, as soon as the fish protection team grabbed an electric fisherman, Liu Hong received a call from a deputy director of the police station: "This is our informant, what are you doing to catch him?" Liu Hong asked immediately. : Can your informant make fish in the Yangtze River? The other party was speechless. Later, Liu Hong reflected the situation to his superiors, and soon the deputy director was transferred away.

  To deal with these "relative households", the escort team also summed up the experience: the leaders of this department greeted them and sent the people they caught to that department. Fortunately, the work of fish protection involves many departments, and the fish protection team can "flash around".

  However, the most important point is that the fish squad is a private fish squad and is not subject to the jurisdiction of any department, so there is no problem of "short cannibalism". But the fish protection team also has a "short board": they just catch people, as for how to deal with it, it is up to the relevant departments. The fish protection team often encountered the situation where the illegal fishermen caught were quickly released and then continued to commit crimes.

  "There was an illegal fisherman who was arrested by us for 3 consecutive years. Although we knew he was a related household, we still caught it." Liu Hong told reporters that the most unbearable thing was that some people threatened after they were released. Say: "What about you catching me? Didn't I come out with some money?"

Save the fish

  To "catch" people is to save the fish. Over the years, the escort team has saved many Yangtze fish.

  In April this year, while cruising the fish, 500 meters upstream of the Jiangdi Luohuangdiwei Bridge, it was found that a cage net was placed in the river, and a 13-pound baby fish was trapped in the net.

  "The baby fish is a nationally protected wildlife. It was difficult to find traces in the Yangtze River. In recent years, as the ecological environment of the Yangtze River continued to improve, it gradually increased." Huang Daming recalled that in May last year, they rescued a 2 Multiple catfish.

  The rare fishes in the Yangtze River are not seen by ordinary people. But for the fish protection team members, it is common. Every year, a large number of rare fishes "rescue to death" because of their rescue.

  On May 13 this year, when Liu Hong and Cheng Yongbin were cruising in the Wumai waters of Zhutuo Township on the Yangtze River, they found that someone had put a gill net in the river. They immediately closed the net and rescued a 50-centimeter-long Yangtze sturgeon weighing about 2 pounds, a national-level protected wild animal.

  This Yangtze sturgeon was lucky to escape. Other Yangtze sturgeons, even with their rescue, often find it difficult to escape. In May last year, the team found a gill net near the Youxi Yangtze River Bridge in the lower reaches of Youxi Town, Jiangjin District. When the team members closed the net, they saw 6 Yangtze sturgeon sticking to it, about 80 cm large and 50 cm small, 3 of which were dead.

  After the completion of the Three Gorges Dam, Gaoxia exited Pinghu. In order to find a suitable breeding environment, some rare fishes have to migrate to natural rivers with turbulent currents. The 115-kilometer-long protected area is their best place to live.

  "In order to protect these fish from harm, our fish protection team members turn on the phone 24 hours a day, the torch is fully charged, and the equipment is ready, ready to be ready at any time." Huang Daming said that protecting the Yangtze River is not only a technical job, but also a physical one, without a good body Can't do it.

  In the summer, the fish protection boat was not covered. Under the scorching sun, the cabin was like an oven, and their skin was tanned; in winter, the river surface was smoky, the clothes quickly drenched, and the cold river wind blew, and the people shivered with freezing. .

  No matter the scorching heat or the cold winter, they have always guarded the Yangtze River without any change.

  "The protected area is the home of rare fish in the Yangtze River. There are more than 90 kinds of rare fish here. If we cannot protect this home, the entire Three Gorges Reservoir area will probably be free of fish." Cheng Yongbin said.

Chain

  After 6 years of protecting fish, Liu Hong and his teammates found that they were not facing one or two people, but a black interest chain and a group of people in the interest chain.

  "Do you know the daily profit of Yangtze Electric Fish?" Huang Daming, a fish protection team member, asked the reporter to sell a pass. Seeing that the reporter couldn't tell, he stretched out his fingers and said, "Ten thousand yuan!"

  "The continuous proliferation and release in recent years, coupled with the obvious improvement of the Yangtze River's ecology, there are more fish in the Yangtze River, which makes the electric fishermen more profitable." Huang Daming made a calculation for the reporter: operating in an electric fishboat for two or three hours , You can catch a few hundred catties of fish. Jiang fish is at least forty or fifty yuan a catty.

  Cheng Yongbin also listed the price of Yangtze River fish for the reporter: 40 yuan per catty for carp, 60 yuan per catty for silver carp, 150 yuan per catty for yellow hot pepper, 300 yuan per catty for Jiangtuan, 400 yuan per catty for rock carp, Yangtze sturgeon and The price of baby fish is even more expensive.

  "In April last year, we caught three electric fishers near the Gouzhouba in Shimen Town, Yangtze River, and seized 270 pounds of fish on the spot, and more than 500 pounds of fish were hidden in a mud pit downstream." Cheng Yongbin said that those are all the fish that are producing seeds, one by one, holding their bellies, and it makes people cry.

  When there is demand, there is a market. Behind illegal fishing is a complete black industrial chain.

  "These fish were eventually sold to the restaurant." Liu Hong said that some illegal fishermen opened their own fish farms and called themselves to sell. Those who don’t have a fish shop sell the fish to fishmongers or directly to restaurants.

  "Selling to fishmongers, fishmongers need to make 30% of the money, and the profit is also very impressive. There are more than 10 fishmongers in Jiangjin District, of which there are 4 in Zhuyang Town." Cheng Yongbin told reporters that there are many Jiangyu restaurants, just There are three in Zhuyang Town, which receives a large number of diners every day.

Threaten

  People steal fish, they protect the fish, it is equivalent to breaking the other party's financial path, it is inevitable that they hate them. Because of the fish protection, it is common for them to be beaten.

  The New Year's Day of 2015, the fishing ban period. Liu Hong took the fish protection team Zhou Jing to cruise the waters of Baisha Town. Looking from a distance, someone put a net on the river, and they quickly drove to the scene. As a result, the other party looked at the ship and hurriedly abandoned the net and fled.

  The fish protection team couldn't catch up and had to stop the boat to close the net. Suddenly, more than 10 people holding bamboo sticks and steel pipes surrounded them. The leaders shouted at them: "Your volunteers don't even have the power to enforce the law, what qualifications are there to control us?"

  "Illegal fishing during the fishing ban period, ordinary people can also control!" Liu Honggang finished, the stick fell on his forehead, and blood flowed instantly. The other party continued to siege him and Zhou Jing until they could not afford to fall.

  Later, Liu Hong called the police. Unexpectedly, the police only took them back to ask questions, but ignored the beaters. Covering his bleeding forehead, Liu Hong asked angrily: "Why don't you take them away?" The other party said coldly: "I know them all, and I will ask later." (Next version 6)

  Later, the beating man took 50,000 yuan and wanted to be "private," but Liu Hong did not agree. As a result, the other party was summoned to the police station, detained for only one day, and released the next day.

  "I sewed 5 stitches on my head and lost 5 days of fluid. The medical expenses cost more than 3,000 yuan, and finally I have to bear it myself." Liu Hong said depressedly.

  Zhou Jing, who was beaten, felt suffocated and simply withdrew from the fish protection team. Others also felt frustrated and "run away" from the volunteer team. The original 22-member fish protection team has only 7 members left. Later, new players joined in one after another, and the number stabilized at the current 10 or so.

  These remaining team members are all tried and tested "warriors". What they need to deal with is not only "emergency" but also "ambush" carefully laid by illegal fishermen.

  One night in March 2017, the fish protection team received a call: There was a fish near the water in Zhiping Town, Jiangjin District. The 4 team members then sailed to the boat. On the surface of the river, a ship was docked and the electric light was shaking, it seemed that the electric fish boat was operating.

  The team members leaned on quickly, just waiting to check forward. Suddenly, they saw stones and iron bars stacked on the ship. They suddenly realized that it was not good. They were about to turn the bow of the ship. It turned out that many people had long been hiding in fishing boats to fight ambushes.

  Fortunately, they found it early, ran in time, and the speed of the ship was very fast. The other party's big ship chased 2 kilometers and did not catch up, and they escaped. Even so, player Huang Daming's hand was injured and stitched a few stitches. Team member Tao Dawan was beaten into the middle of the river and was pulled up by Liu Hong, but he was also terrified.

  Those who beat people, the team members know that they are all electric fish households. The next day, the team members reported to the police station. Those people were only detained for 3 days, and Huang Daming paid more than 100 yuan in medical expenses. After being released, an electric fisherman threatened Huang Daming that he would kill his family.

  After this incident occurred, the four team members who were cruising together left another two, and only the captains Liu Hong and Huang Daming did not leave. Tao Dawan, who was falsely alarmed, now works as a helper in a restaurant, earning three or four thousand yuan a month. Even if he changed his status, some people still made fun of him deliberately: "How great is the fish protection work, why don't you stop doing it?"

Rumors

  In addition to physical injuries, there are also mental shocks. One of the troubles that the fish protection team can't get around is the rumor.

  "Some of the people we caught caught rumors against us after they came out, and even those who weren't caught by us also spread rumors everywhere because of their good deeds." Liu Hong said annoyed.

  When talking about this topic, the loud voice of Liu Hong lowered, and his inner grievances filled his face.

  "They spread rumors everywhere, saying that we protect the fish during the day and steal the fish at night; say that we made the boat so well that it was not caught when stealing the fish; they also said,'no benefit is not early', if there is no benefit, protect the fish What is the team puzzle like?"

  These words spread to the relevant departments, and some leaders may be afraid of causing trouble, or raised doubts, so that they do not go out at night. But the illegal fishermen are all going out day and night, they do not go out at night, how to protect the fish?

  Others were watching them, and when they saw them sailing, they called the fishery administration or the public security department to report. Soon, law enforcement ships stopped them and questioned them on the river.

  "People clear themselves. The best way to deal with this kind of lies is that you say yours, and I do mine." Huang Daming said happily. Fortunately, their work has been supported by the masses for many years, and many along the river The crowd saw them. Will take the initiative to say hello: "You have worked hard!"

  This ordinary greeting often makes them touched and supports them to stick to the end. In order to deal with the rumors and confuse the crowd, they also came up with a solution-some people questioned that they were "no benefit and no early," and they deliberately said that they could receive a salary of 3,000 or 4,000 yuan a month from the government.

  It seems that this private fish protection team immediately got in touch with the government. With their identity and salaries, they can finally protect the fish justifiably.

hold fast

  Listening to the sometimes fervent and sometimes low-sounding stories of the fish-guards, the reporter couldn't help but throw a question: after so many years, after experiencing ups and downs and gossip, why did you choose to stick to it?

  Liu Hong said with a bitter smile: "The boat of fish protection is good or bad. The fish protection team offended so many people. The reason why others dare not move us is because we have made a reputation. Illegal fishermen saw us Fear. Once we withdraw from the fish protection team, this layer of protection will be lost."

  Obviously, they still fear revenge. As for the job of protecting fish, as long as one day, others will be afraid of them.

  "One of the most important reasons for perseverance is deep love for the mother river of the Yangtze River." Cheng Yongbin said meaningfully, "This emotion has not changed for so many years. Since I lived by the river, I have loved the Yangtze River to the bone marrow. Can't erase it."

  On April 1 this year, the Chongqing Rare and Endemic Fish National Nature Reserve Management Office signed a purchase service contract with the fish protection team. The fish protection team used the funds to purchase five insurances for the team members. A monthly subsidy of 500 yuan is issued.

  This allows them to straighten their waist, have more confidence, and feel more secure when they protect the fish.

  The deep feelings of the fish protection team members towards the Yangtze River are not only reflected in the fish protection. Huang Daming, who started fishing with his father on the river at the age of eight or nine, has been dealing with the Yangtze River for 50 years. When someone fell into the water, he went to rescue; when someone died, he went to fish.

  Not long ago, continuous rainstorms in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River caused the river to skyrocket. A citizen fishing on the earth dam in the middle of the river was instantly trapped in the river by the torrent. At the critical moment, Huang Daming arrived in a boat and rescued him from the torrent.

  "Every rescue is a good one." Huang Daming said flatly about these rescues.

look forward to

  The Yangtze River “Defense War”, which has lasted for six years, despite its many victories, the fish protection team members are still worried: the illegal fishing black interest chain will not be cut off one day, and the Yangtze River fish will be threatened every day.

  "There are too many Sanwu ships along the river. These ships are flexible and fast. They frequently appear on the surface of the Yejiang River and cause great threats to the fish in the Yangtze River." Liu Hong told reporters worriedly, only within the scope of the protected area, There are two hundred such ships. The fish protection team has reflected to the relevant departments many times, but the departments have been pushed away from each other, and no remediation has been seen so far.

  From the point of view of the fish protection team, the configuration of law enforcement departments is also very problematic. "The law enforcement ships equipped by the fisheries and public security departments are more like official ships. They are fully equipped, but the speed is slow, and they cannot sail in shallow waters, so that the electric fish boats do not take the law enforcement ships in their eyes at all. They think that they are just doing "Paper Tiger"." Cheng Yongbin said.

  "Electric fish boats often operate at night, and our law enforcement boats are too big to say that they have no night sailing function. They can only shake a circle during the day to brush the "existence", and the effect cannot be compared to the fish protection team." Li Rong I told reporters that in 2012, he was the station manager of the Jiangzhen District Fishery Station, struggling to crack down on illegal fishing, and even stayed for several nights, but still returned without success. They can't handle a few cases a year, not because they don't want to do it, but because it's too difficult to handle: the equipment can't keep up, and the staff can't keep up. In recent years, more than 80% of the cases handled by the fishery administrations have been provided by volunteer fish escorts or assisted.

  The fish escort interviewed told reporters that the law enforcement department does have a problem of taking the form: a fishery boat coming up the middle reaches of the Yangtze River will generally call the fish squad a day or two in advance: we are going to cruise, please take the river Clean up the illegal fishing boat.

  "To really fight illegal fishing, you have to be faster than the electric fish boat, equipped with a flexible maneuvering boat, the speed is faster, and the movement is smaller. Then a big boat, when you arrive at the scene, the illegal fisherman has run away. This is what The reason why it is difficult for law enforcement to catch illegal fishermen." Liu Hong admitted frankly.

  Speaking of this, Huang Daming couldn't help but "spit": "The fish protection team has a total of 8 fish protection ships, only 2 of which are certified. The rest of the ship's relevant departments do not give an annual review, saying that the ship does not have design drawings. But as long as you hand in a few Ten thousand yuan of money, I will quickly go through the formalities for you. But our fish protection funds are all a problem. Where can I find free money to get a permit?"

  Despite the difficulties, the fish protection team is still looking forward to the future. Recently, a new round of special rectification of illegal fishing has been launched in the central and riverside areas. Many departments took the initiative to find a fish protection team to understand the situation, and even focused their attention on the back end of the industrial chain, which made the fish protection team more confident.

  "There is still good news." Liu Hong told reporters optimistically: 3 months ago, the local agricultural and rural committee agreed to reimburse us 80,000 yuan in fuel costs every year. Although it has not yet been fulfilled, we firmly believe that the government’s greater support will end. Will come, just like we firmly believe that the Yangtze River will eventually become a paradise for fish.

  "A lot of places come to us to investigate the experience of fish protection. When they go, they will often say one thing: we can't learn your experience because we don't have Liu Hong, and there is no such volunteer fish protection team." Chongqing rare and unique fish Wang Wei, director of the National Nature Reserve Management Office, said that the fish protection team "pays for hatred," all out of love for the Yangtze River and love for the ecology, without any selfishness.

  "For such a team, we must not only buy them helmets to prevent them from being "sneak attacked", but also provide them with greater support, so that the civilian volunteer fish protection team can grow and develop." Wang Wei said, combating illegal fishing Fish can't do without group prevention.

  Our reporter Han Zhen