[Explanation] On January 1, 2020, Hukou County, Jiangxi Province, located at the intersection of the Yangtze River and Poyang Lake, took the lead in starting a 10-year comprehensive fishing ban.
For a whole year so far, how effective is it?
A few days ago, the finless porpoise patrol team in Hukou County, Jiangxi Province launched a lake patrol to check the active changes in the finless porpoise population and understand the effects of the fishing ban.
The patrol boat first came to the Balijiang waters, which has always been an important habitat for the Yangtze dolphins, and it is also one of the most protected waters in the entire Yangtze River.
The surface of the river is cold and windy, and the patrol team has persisted for three years.
They are very pleased to see the increasing frequency of finless porpoise out of water and the continuous improvement of the water ecological environment during the hot and cold weather.
[Concurrent] Zhou Junqi, Captain of the Finless Porpoise Patrol Team, Hukou County, Jiangxi Province
From 2017 to the present, in the past three years, due to the national Yangtze River protection policy and the strengthening and implementation of various protection policies, the Yangtze finless porpoise (population) is gradually recovering. Our 17-year record (the first time the frequency of water discharge) is 351 This year (2020) has reached 512 heads (times), and the frequency of water discharge has increased significantly.
[Explanation] In recent years, in order to ensure that a lake of clear water flows into the east of the river, Hukou County has increased its ecological protection efforts and has taken the lead in setting up demonstration sites for protecting finless porpoises in the country to assist in patrolling.
At the same time, efforts were made to implement the decision and deployment of banning and retreating fishing in key waters of the Yangtze River Basin. 486 fishing boats have been recovered, and 994 fishermen have all washed their feet and landed ashore, smoothly helping fishermen switch to production.
[Explanation] Today, the finless porpoise patrol team of Hukou County has more than 10 members and 3 patrol boats.
Most of them are fishermen.
The former "fisherman" has been transformed into a "fisherman", assisting fishery administration and environmental protection volunteers to carry out water ecological protection work.
[Concurrent] Shu Yinan, a finless porpoise patrol member in Hukou County, Jiangxi Province
We used to be fishermen, now we have become a fisherman. I think this is more meaningful than before. Three years ago, the nets in this river were all over the ground, and the living space of the finless porpoise was also small. Through the ban on fishing this year, and through our lake patrol observations, there are now more fish populations, more fishery resources, and more living space for finless porpoises. I think this is a very welcome change.
Jiang Tao and Xu Huigang report from Hukou, Jiangxi
Editor in charge: [Liu Xian]