China News Service, Xining, July 29th, title: Life rescue spanning nearly half a century: Qinghai Lake reappears "fish and birds leaping in water, clear grass and green"
Author Lu Danyang
Every year from the end of May to the beginning of August, Qinghai Lake naked carp, a unique fish species of Qinghai Lake, ushered in the migration and spawning season. The layers of Qinghai Lake naked carp in the migration channel on the north and south shores of Qinghai Lake are moving against the current and migrating. The short video of "half river clear water half river fish" went viral on social media.
Qinghai Lake naked carp, commonly known as "Huangyu", is a rare species and main fish resource unique to Qinghai Lake. Its growth rate is very slow and its reproductive capacity is low. This species was listed as an endangered species in the "China Red List of Species" in 2004.
"The ecological environment at that time can only be described as cruel. The Qinghai Lake naked carp resources have been exhausted to be unable to carry out fishery use." Recalling scenes from the 1980s to the beginning of this century, Shi Jianquan, director of Qinghai Lake naked carp rescue center No emotion.
The data picture shows the birds on the Qinghai Lake. Photo by Lu Danyang
At the end of the 1950s, Qinghai Province began to develop fisheries in Qinghai Lake. As the water level of Qinghai Lake dropped, the area shrank, spawning grounds were destroyed, overfishing and poaching and overfishing led to the Qinghai Lake naked carp after 1963. The output dropped sharply.
Since the 1980s, overfishing and poaching and overfishing have become more serious. Especially during the spawning period of Qinghai Lake naked carp, a large number of Qinghai Lake naked carp that migrated and spawned in the estuary area was snatched by poachers. The emptiness led to a sharp decrease in the reserve population of the population, which caused great difficulties for the restoration of resource proliferation.
In order to rescue and restore the naked carp resources of Qinghai Lake and restore the compound ecological functions of Qinghai Lake, since the 1980s, the Qinghai Provincial Government has implemented the work of closing the lake for fish breeding five times.
The data picture shows that many birds live on the edge of Qinghai Lake. Photo by Lu Danyang
On the one hand, Qinghai Province has formulated relevant laws and regulations to increase propaganda efforts in 13 townships in 3 prefectures, 4 counties, and mobilize people of all ethnic groups to join the team to protect Qinghai Lake naked carp; on the other hand, it has taken the initiative. The four main system engineering measures are the background investigation of the Qinghai Lake basin, the preservation of the original species of Qinghai Lake naked carp, the construction of artificial fish passages, and the development of artificial reproduction and release to restore the number of Qinghai Lake naked carps.
"From the end of the last century to the beginning of this century, scientific researchers have been doing basic scientific research on artificial breeding and restocking." Shi Jianquan said, "Since the artificial reproduction and restocking work started in 2002, a total of 156 million Qinghai Lake naked carps have been released. The reserve of naked carp resources in Qinghai Lake was restored to 93,000 tons, 35 times that of the initial protection period, and the contribution rate to the recovery of naked carp resources in Qinghai Lake reached 23%."
In the early years, the rivers flowing into Qinghai Lake frequently dried up and dried up, and spawning fish groups could not smoothly enter the river to lay eggs and reproduce. In addition, the dam on the river blocked the spawning and breeding migration channels of Qinghai Lake naked carp, so that a large number of broodstock could not go up to lay eggs and gathered under the barrage, resulting in stranded and hypoxic death.
The data picture shows Qinghai Lake. Photo by Lu Danyang
"Beginning in 2010, Qinghai Province demolished the barrage dams, and built and rebuilt artificial fish passages. The problem of the migration and spawning of naked carps in Qinghai Lake has been completely resolved, and it has become a powerful means of supplementing natural resources." Shi Jianquan said.
The "Qinghai Lake Ecological Environmental Protection Status" released this year shows that the area of Qinghai Lake wetland has increased by 15,100 hectares, the vegetation coverage has increased by 13.5%, the overall ecological function of Qinghai Lake has continued to increase, and the sandy land, bare land, and salinization in the protected area The total land area has decreased by 7,736 hectares, and the protected functional land in the reserve has remained unchanged for 15 years.
With the improvement of the ecological environment, the number of bird species in Qinghai Lake has increased from 164 in 1996 to the current 225 species; the population of Przewalski's gazelle, an endangered species unique to Qinghai Lake, has increased from more than 300 to more than 2,000. The highest value in history; the number of black-necked cranes has grown from more than 40 to more than 130, and Qinghai Lake reproduces "fish and birds jumping for joy in the water and green grass." (Finish)