Yichang City Fishery Administration responds to the plight of the Chinese sturgeon farm in Qu Yuan's hometown: he can enjoy subsidies this year
The Paper reporter Wen Ruohan
Lao Mei, the oldest sturgeon farmer in Qu Yuan's hometown and the guardian of 254 Chinese sturgeons in Zigui County, Yichang City, Hubei Province, has a regret that remains unresolved.
In the late summer and early autumn of 2021, the Laomei Fish Farm, which has the fourth largest number of Chinese sturgeons in China and the second largest in Hubei Province, was dug up by the construction team of an upstream project and occupied the water intake channel, resulting in a shortage of water for aquaculture; , the water from the upstream construction to change the canals to soak in the cement grooves also rushed into the Chinese sturgeon pond without permission; after that, many Chinese sturgeons turned their stomachs. On the 26th and on October 1st, a large number of small Siberian sturgeon died.
Four months after the incident, Lao Mei said that no one was still responsible for the incident; temporary water pipes were not installed; the Chinese sturgeon farm was still in emergency pumping state.
In addition, after 15 years of personal subsidized Chinese sturgeon breeding, he was in trouble: the fish farm has limited breeding conditions, and the old plum is nearly seventy years old, and the debt is like a mountain.
In response to the experience of the old plum fish farm, on January 19, 2022, the relevant person in charge of the Fisheries Affairs Section of the Yichang Agriculture and Rural Bureau told The Paper that if the death of a national first-class protected animal was caused, it is recommended to report directly to the case. shall be handled by the public security department in accordance with the procedures.”
The above-mentioned person in charge said, "The most important thing at present is to keep the fish (Chinese sturgeon) first. It is the most fundamental to improve the current water." The plumbing is still under construction.
"The near-term (emergency) water source is still guaranteed, but I am afraid that in case of rain, the water quality in the upper reaches of the (river) will change, which will easily cause (problems)."
The person in charge also brought good news: the subsidy funds for Chinese sturgeon breeding in 2021 can be enjoyed by the old plum fish farm.
"(This year) it can be in place around the Spring Festival."
This will be the first time that Lao Meiyu Farm has received relevant subsidy funds in the three years since the policy was implemented.
Yichang City Fishery Administration: The most important thing is to keep the fish (Chinese sturgeon)
The Chinese sturgeon, which originated in the Cretaceous period hundreds of millions of years ago, is ancient and precious, and is known as "the most loving fish": it was born in the Yangtze River, grew up in the sea, and returned home thousands of miles away.
It is an important link for the exchange of information and materials between oceans and rivers, and is an important indicator species reflecting the ecological status of oceans and rivers.
There used to be tens of thousands, but now it is hard to find traces in the wild, and the natural breeding activities in the Yangtze River have not been seen for many years. It has become a national first-class protected animal and a critically endangered species in the Yangtze River.
The "Chinese Sturgeon Rescue Action Plan (2015-2030)" issued by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2015 stated, "The breeding population of Chinese sturgeon in the Yangtze River has dropped from more than 10,000 in the 1970s to less than 100 currently. Over the past few years, the average annual decline rate of the Chinese sturgeon breeding population has reached about 10%, which is worrying. If no effective measures are taken, the natural population of the Chinese sturgeon will rapidly go extinct."
In response to the broken canal in the old plum fish farm and the death of the Chinese sturgeon, on January 19, the relevant person in charge of the Fisheries Affairs Section of the Yichang Agriculture and Rural Bureau told The Paper that if it caused the death of a national first-class protected animal, it would be "like digging out" Like the bird case, it is directly a criminal case”, “If this is the case, it is not handled by our fishery administration department.”
The above-mentioned person in charge said, "The most important thing at present is to keep the fish (Chinese sturgeon) first. It is the most fundamental to improve the current water." After on-site visits and understanding, on January 19, the water pipe was still under construction .
"The near-term (emergency) water source is still guaranteed, but I am afraid that in the event of a rain, the water quality in the upper reaches (of the river) will change, which will easily cause (problems)." "When the water rises in March, the water becomes muddy..."
In addition, the person in charge told The Paper that the old plum fish farm has more than 200 Chinese sturgeons, which is the largest in Yichang City.
The subsidy funds for Chinese sturgeon breeding in 2021 can be enjoyed by Laomei Fish Farm.
"Close to 200,000, probably such a figure." "(This year) can be put in place around the Spring Festival." "Major projects must be approved by the party group, and then distributed to the county, and the county will give it to him directly."
The person in charge said that the subsidy funds for Chinese sturgeon breeding come from the national level and the central financial transfer payment, and Hubei Province has formulated a plan for the use of funds, "(the province's) document only said this time that subsidies will be given to owners of Chinese sturgeon breeding. "We strictly implement the plan formulated by the province."
If the old plum fish farm successfully receives the aforementioned subsidies, this will be the first time that the old plum fish farm has received the relevant subsidy funds in the three years since Hubei Province implemented relevant policies and issued the Chinese sturgeon subsidy funds in 2019.
The aforementioned person in charge of the Fishery Affairs Section of the Yichang Agriculture and Rural Bureau told The Paper that the old plum fish farm and the water source are too far apart, a few kilometers apart, which is a risk in itself.
The Chinese sturgeon in Laomei Fish Farm were originally raised in cages. In the Yangtze River, the water body is very large.
Later, the cages were cleaned, and the Chinese sturgeon was transferred to the current small fish farm for breeding. There is indeed a breeding risk at present.
These issues have been reported to the higher authorities, but there is no clear opinion yet.
It has been nearly five months since the canal was cut off, and the newly erected water pipe was once tested for water
Laomei's farm is located in Zigui County, Qu Yuan's hometown in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, only ten kilometers away from the Three Gorges Dam.
Peng Mei News previously reported that at the time of the incident, the construction of an ecological corridor project involving the protection of the Yangtze River upstream was first washed down by the water from the cement groove and into the Chinese sturgeon pond.
At the end of August 2021, the engineering team forcibly dug the water intake channel of the old plum fish farm.
He called the police twice, and submitted a report to the county in advance, but he failed to stop the ditch.
"The water in the cement trench contains alkali and is poisonous!" said Lao Mei.
Subsequently, many Chinese sturgeon turned their stomachs, and Siberian sturgeon began to die in batches.
Lao Mei's temperature measurement found that at noon, the ground temperature even exceeded 40 degrees Celsius, but he did not have more water to cool the Chinese sturgeon in the fish pond.
On September 26, 2021, a large Chinese sturgeon died with a body length of nearly two meters.
Five days later, on October 1, 2021, another died.
Why was the water intake channel of the old plum fish farm dug up by the engineering team?
On September 29, 2021, the Hubei Zigui Economic Development Zone Management Committee replied to The Paper in writing that before the start of construction, in April 2021, it signed an agreement with Laomei to "change the canal" and is currently investing in the Laomei Fish Farm. Erection of water pipes to "permanently solve the problem of water safety in Chinese sturgeon farms."
But Lao Mei denied the "agreement" they said.
He said that this agreement is not another agreement, and he has never signed an agreement to cut off the canal.
The only agreement signed is only to build a sand filter to prevent the construction sediment from falling into the water intake channel and causing the water source to be turbid.
In August 2021, in order to prevent the construction team from forcibly digging up and occupying the water intake channel of the Chinese sturgeon pond, Lao Mei once called the police, and reported the situation to the management committee of Hubei Zigui Economic Development Zone and other local departments and asked for help.
But at the end of August of that year, the canal was dug up.
The embankment retaining wall of the ecological corridor was built into the intake channel of the fish farm.
Since then, the old plum fish farm can only abandon the original main water source and water intake method, and pump water from the shallow river or the downstream hydropower station.
On January 19, 2022, the person in charge of the relevant department in Zigui County told The Paper that the water pipe was installed on January 18, and the gate valve was opened to allow water to flow out. The gate valve was managed by Laomei.
But Lao Mei replied to The Paper that at 11 am on the 19th, the water pipe was still being repaired; and the gate valve had been managed by the construction party of the project involved.
Lao Mei explained that the gate valve was installed in mid-November 2021 and is currently managed by the construction party; because the water pipe has been in a state of debugging and maintenance, the construction party has not handed over the gate valve so far.
At 14:30 on January 19, 2022, the construction party opened the gate valve to test the water; at 19:16, a small amount of water reached the downstream, and further maintenance was required to check the reason for the small amount of water.
Regarding the water supply problem of the aforementioned water pipes, on January 19, the person in charge of the relevant projects of the Hubei Zigui Economic Development Zone Management Committee told The Paper, "We only ensure that the water pipes are connected, but we cannot ensure that there is water in the water pipes." "Every year there are dry season."