Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs： The fish resources in the Yangtze River are recovering, but the level of aquatic biodiversity is low.

　　Cctv newsOn the afternoon of Tuesday, April 2, 2024, the State Council Press Office held a routine briefing on the State Council policy, introducing the Opinions on Unswervingly Promoting the Ten-year Fishing Ban in the Yangtze River and answering reporters’ questions.

　　Ma Youxiang, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said that since the total ban on fishing, the fish resources and biodiversity in the Yangtze River have recovered, and the effect of the ban on fishing has initially appeared. However, we should be soberly aware that the diversity level of aquatic organisms is still relatively low. The integrity of aquatic organisms in the key waters of the Yangtze River basin is still in the "poor" level, which is divided into six grades, and "poor" belongs to the fourth grade from good to bad. Although 15 new species have been detected in the three-year fishing ban, 120 species have not been detected among the 443 species of fish that have been distributed in history.

　　Second, the level of fishery resources is still relatively low. After the fishing ban, the amount of eggs and seedlings of the "four big fish" is 4.5 times that before the fishing ban, which is based on the effect of these three years, but it only accounts for 30.5% of the best level in history. The total fish resources have increased by 25.6% compared with those before the fishing ban, which is a positive aspect, but it only accounts for 36.8% of the highest resources in history, with achievements, but the gap with the best is still very large.

　　The Yangtze River basin is a super-large ecosystem connected by rivers, lakes and seas. After taking measures to ban fishing, some low-trophic fish resources with short growth cycle and rapid reproduction will be restored first, and food will be provided for fish and birds with higher trophic levels through the food chain. Since then, the self-regulation of the ecosystem has been continuously optimized to achieve a new balance. The sexual maturity age of the main economic fish in the Yangtze River is generally 3-5 years, and two or three generations can rest after 10 years of fishing ban, thus basically forming a good cycle of sustainable recovery of aquatic organisms and healthy operation of the ecosystem in the Yangtze River.

　　Judging from the relevant practice, the recovery of fish resources is also a long-term process. According to experts’ research on the evolution law of fish resources and diversity in waters without fishing pressure at home and abroad, Qinghai Lake has been closed to fishing for 23 years in China, but the recovery of fish resources is still relatively slow, and fishing is still completely closed at present. From abroad, European Rhine salmon almost disappeared in 1950. After decades of continuous protection, although the resources have increased, there is still a big gap compared with the historical peak.

　　After the expiration of the ten-year ban on fishing in the Yangtze River, it is still necessary to take protective measures that are suitable for the aquatic biological resources and protection needs on the basis of scientific argumentation. Some fish are attracted by special hydrological conditions, or migrate, seek bait, breed and other habits, and gather at certain times and in certain waters, which visually seems to be more fish, which is a normal phenomenon. It turned out that there was a similar situation before the fishing ban, and this special situation did not appear until the fishing ban was now. It was a normal situation.

　　Therefore, this time, the General Office of the State Council specially issued "Opinions on Unswervingly Promoting the Ten-year Fishing Ban in the Yangtze River", which is also based on the resource situation, scientific laws and practical experience of the Yangtze River basin, and strengthened some work on the original basis. In the next step, we should unswervingly push forward the implementation, formulate a long-term targeted protection plan, and take various measures to restore aquatic biological resources and diversity by means of river-lake connection, ecological regulation, restoration of key habitats, and scientific release.

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　　Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs: Providing more powerful policy guarantee for the ten-year ban on fishing in the Yangtze River