The quality of the water ecological environment has been continuously improved since the catch ban was carried out for two years.
For the sake of water and fish fertilizer in Dongting
core reading
Dongting Lake is the second largest freshwater lake in my country with remarkable ecological benefits.
However, illegal fishing once affected the quality of the ecological environment in the Dongting Lake basin.
Since 2020, Dongting Lake has achieved a perennial ban on fishing.
In the past two years, relevant areas in Hunan have actively carried out the work of banning and returning fishing, the biodiversity of Dongting Lake has recovered rapidly, and the ecological protection awareness of surrounding residents has been significantly strengthened.
In a warm spring breeze, Wang Long, director of the Yuanjiang Administration Office of the South Dongting Lake Nature Reserve in Yiyang, Hunan, boarded the patrol boat and sailed to the depths of the South Dongting Lake.
At this time, it is the dry season of Dongting Lake. Looking around from the boat, the island on the surface of the water has green shoals and green grass. Occasionally, a few groups of migratory birds can be seen lingering on the lake.
"There are so many fish that some migratory birds are reluctant to fly away." Wang Long said, "migratory birds" have become "resident birds" and are becoming a new landscape in Babaili Dongting.
As the second largest freshwater lake in my country, the importance of Dongting Lake is self-evident.
In October 2019, Hunan Province issued the "Implementation Opinions on Strengthening the Protection of Aquatic Organisms in the Province", which stipulates that by 2020, the "four waters" of the Hunan section of the Yangtze River, Dongting Lake, and the "Four Rivers" of Xiangzi Yuanli will be banned all year round.
In 2021, Hunan will focus on Dongting Lake to further implement the important deployment of the central government on the "ten-year fishing ban" in key waters of the Yangtze River Basin.
Build ecological dams and quickly restore biodiversity
"Look, these two sides were not like this before." Wang Long told reporters at the octagonal pavilion on the Shiji Lake flood control embankment.
Looking in the direction of his finger, I saw a piece of water separated by the island and the lake shore, with a width of 1,500 meters. There were beacons floating quietly on the lake. Occasionally, freighters passed by, and herons could be seen spreading their wings from time to time.
Wang Long said that before the total ban on arrest, it was a different scene.
On the wide water surface, only the channel less than 200 meters wide is not blocked by obstacles.
The fishermen erected purse seines with bamboo poles, dividing the lake into pieces.
People retreat and the water is clear, fish and birds breed.
Continue along the patrol line to the depths of Dongting Lake in the south, and you will reach the Bainizhou Wetland Ecological Restoration Area.
Because of the low-lying terrain, the lake floods over some islands during the high water season, attracting fish to live here.
During the fishing season, fishermen land on the island and use purse seine to encircle the low-lying areas for fishing.
"After the complete ban on fishing, fishermen no longer entered the island. We built ecological dams to retain water during the wet season, and formed a normalized wetland, making it an important habitat for birds. In just two years, the 450 acres of wetlands have , and found that there are as many as forty or fifty species of vegetation populations that have been restored." The staff introduced.
"In the past, it was difficult to see finless porpoises in the South Dongting Lake." Li Jianzhi, a citizen of Yuanjiang River, said that water pollution caused by paper mills, electric fishing, and dredging boats once seriously threatened the living environment of finless porpoises.
Fortunately, in February this year, finless porpoises reappeared in the waters of the Baisha Changhe River in the South Dongting Lake after a lapse of nearly 30 years.
The rapid recovery of biodiversity is one of the most significant changes that have occurred in Dongting Lake since the implementation of the fishing ban.
Data from the Hunan Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs shows that the number of aquatic life species monitored in Dongting Lake in 2021 has increased by nearly 30 compared with 2018.
In the past 30 years, the carmine and eel, which have been hard to find in Dongting Lake, have reappeared in people's field of vision.
Establish a "smart fishery administration" system to efficiently monitor illegal fishing
"In the past, we only relied on water for shore protection, but now we have high technology." Wan Wei, a staff member of the Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Brigade of Yuanjiang Agriculture and Rural Bureau, opened his mobile phone to introduce to reporters, and saw the real-time scene of the lake on the screen.
Hundreds of thousands of acres of water surface, dozens of front-line law enforcement officers, how to achieve effective supervision?
Since 2020, Yuanjiang City has invested more than 20 million yuan in the protection of Dongting Lake and established a "smart fishery administration" system.
In the vicinity of Beishengzhou in the South Dongting Lake Nature Reserve, the reporter saw an information collection device.
This island, which covers an area of more than 9,000 mu, is overgrown with reeds and the river channels on both sides are relatively hidden.
If there are illegal acts such as poaching and fishing birds, it is not easy to be discovered.
However, with the construction of signal towers, illegal acts were effectively stopped.
The information collection device is installed on an iron tower tens of meters high and powered by solar panels and small wind turbines. The integrated panoramic camera, radar system and signal transmission system can provide real-time information in the scene to the rear at any time and realize fire warning. , big data monitoring, illegal fishing early warning and other functions.
"Once a ship or a person passes by, the system of the command center will give an early warning. In this way, the on-duty personnel can study and judge the early warning information of suspected illegal fishing received at any time, and arrange the nearest law enforcement personnel to investigate the situation." Wan Wei introduced.
On October 14 last year, in the waters near Wanzi Lake, Huang, an illegal person, took advantage of the patrols of law enforcement officers to drive a small wooden boat and use a wire mesh to poach.
The monitoring of "Smart Fishery Administration" discovered the situation at the first time, and sent the early warning information back to the command center. After more than ten minutes, the nearest law enforcement squadron of the Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Brigade of Yuanjiang Agriculture and Rural Bureau rushed to the scene and fixed the evidence. Capture Huang.
"After the establishment of the 'smart fishery administration' system, we have formed a three-dimensional monitoring system with drones in the air, monitoring towers on the continent, and people patrolling on the water." Wan Wei said.
After the trial operation of the platform in July 2021, it has formed a strong deterrent to illegal fishing.
Relying on cameras and big data to supervise the lake surface, law enforcement personnel should minimize entering the core area, which has become the consensus of the counties along the Dongting Lake.
In Ziyang District, Yiyang City, 25 monitoring sites of "Smart Fishery Administration" cover 253,000 mu of prohibited fishing waters in the Zijiang River, Dongting Lake, Ganxigang River and other areas within the jurisdiction, which have become a strong guarantee for the prohibition and return of fishing.
The monitoring center of Ziyang Fishery Wharf, located on the banks of the Zijiang River, is updating the real-time situation of monitoring points of various watersheds on the big screen.
"On the basis of all-weather inspections, we will focus on strengthening inspections between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m.," said Guo Zhigao, director of the Agricultural Comprehensive Administration and Law Enforcement Bureau of Ziyang District.
Improve water ecology and enhance residents' awareness of ecological protection
Many former fishermen have joined the team to protect rare fish and birds since the publicity of the ban on fishing and the return of fishing in early 2020.
"I started fishing in 1983 and spent most of my life asking Dongting Lake for resources," said Fu Jinwei, a fisherman from Huarong County. The Yangtze River Basin is banned, I agree!"
After the arrest, Fu Jinwei relaxed.
As it happens, the fishery department needs to expand its patrol force and implement the ban on fishing, so they hired a group of returning fishermen who are familiar with the water and shore conditions as "Dongting Lake Associate Inspectors".
Today, Fu Jinwei and the old guys are incorporated into the fishery law enforcement team, doing patrol work on the lakeshore.
For a round trip of 32 kilometers, they have to go back and forth several times a day. While doing inspections and records of water conditions and shore conditions, they pay attention to various suspected illegal fishing clues and report to law enforcement departments at any time; Need to assist law enforcement officers to fix evidence for follow-up processing.
"We chose the old fishermen who are most familiar with the waters of Dongting Lake. They know best where there are many fish and where illegal fishing is likely to occur." Chen Liqing, head of the Huarong County Agricultural Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Brigade, told reporters.
The continuous improvement of water ecology and wetland ecology and the enhancement of ecological protection awareness of the residents around the lake have provided a more suitable living space for birds.
The Hunan Provincial Forestry Bureau recently organized a simultaneous survey of waterbirds in the Dongting Lake area. A total of 150 sample points were set up in the survey, and 404,000 waterbirds of 74 species were recorded in the Dongting Lake area in the winter of 2021, with a record high in both species and number.
Our reporter He Yongshen Zhilin