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  This year marks the fifth year since the launch of the ten-year fishing ban in the Yangtze River. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs recently held a on-site promotion meeting for the ten-year fishing ban in the Yangtze River in Jingzhou, Hubei to introduce the phased achievements made in the Yangtze River fishing ban. The reporter visited Hubei, Anhui and other places and found that since the fishing ban, the Yangtze River has been able to recuperate and the aquatic biodiversity in the Yangtze River Basin has continued to recover.

  In May, key waters such as the main and tributaries of the Yangtze River and large rivers and lakes have ushered in the peak period of fish breeding.

  In 2021, the Yangtze River's ten-year fishing ban was fully launched, and this year it has entered its fifth year. The latest data shows that in 2024, the unit resources of the main stream monitoring points of the Yangtze River increased by 9.5% year-on-year, and administrative cases involving fishery decreased by 24.7% year-on-year; from 2021 to 2024, a total of 344 indigenous fish species were monitored in the Yangtze River Basin, an increase of 36 species from 2017 to 2020 before the fishing ban... Under the support of ecological protection in the entire basin, the Yangtze River restored the vitality of harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

  The rescue action of flagship species such as Chinese sturgeon, Yangtze River Plunder, and Yangtze River Sturgeon is actively launched

  Early in the morning, in the Yangtze River Porpoise Bay in Yangye Town, Ezhou City, Hubei Province, several Yangtze River Porpoises were playing with waves and poking their heads out of the water from time to time. A public welfare and health run to protect the Yangtze River porpoise is being held by the river.

  "The water quality of the Yangtze River has improved in recent years. The 'smiling angel' that was rare in the past can be seen often now." Citizen Li Congguo took out his mobile phone to show off his video of the Yangtze River porpoise playing in the water.

  The survival status of flagship species such as the Yangtze River porpoise directly reflects the health status of the Yangtze River. Yangye Town River Porpoise Bay has gentle flow and abundant fish. It is one of the important natural habitats for Yangtze River Porpoise in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Recently, the Institute of Aquatic Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences has established the "14th Five-Year Plan" National Key R&D Plan project "Yangtze River Porpoise Natural Habitat Restoration Demonstration Zone" here to build a "River Populus Station".

  "We will install panoramic cameras to facilitate people to observe the Yangtze River porpoise in real time from a high place; in the later stage, we will also explore models such as ecological tourism and popular science education, and call on more people to protect the Yangtze River porpoise." Yan Jian, secretary of the Party Committee of Yangye Town, introduced.

  Looking around the world, the rescue operations of flagship species such as the Chinese sturgeon, the Yangtze River Plunder, and the Yangtze River Sturgeon are actively carried out.

  In 2024, the scale of Chinese sturgeon release exceeded 1 million for the first time. It is estimated that about 110,000 young fish have entered the ocean through the estuary of the Yangtze River, and their growth is in good condition. Poyang Lake, Dongting Lake and other places have also carried out emergency rescue of Yangtze River porpoises during the dry season, and coordinated the promotion of on-site and relocation protection.

  The improvement of habitat conditions and scientific research have helped to strive for more possibilities for the recovery of rare and endangered fish wild populations.

  "We successfully collected the first hatched fish of the Yangtze River sturgeon!" In the Dayu Dam waters of Fuxing Town, Chishui City, Guizhou, scientific researchers built a spawning ground of about 8,000 square meters and placed 20 Yangtze River sturgeons into the experimental waters. In April this year, the Yangtze River sturgeon, which was declared "extinct in the wild", achieved natural egg laying and hatching for the first time in the Chishui River, marking a major breakthrough in the natural breeding experiment of the Yangtze River sturgeon in the wild.

  It is understood that in the next step, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will also organize and promote the reconstruction of natural populations of the Yangtze River sturgeon, implement the restoration of important habitats, carry out pilot projects for the connection recovery of important tributaries in the Yangtze River basin such as the Chishui River, and at the same time increase the efforts to increase the reproduction and release, and strive to establish a self-sustainable natural population of the Yangtze River sturgeon as soon as possible.

  Transfer employment and vocational training to continuously strengthen livelihood security for fishermen

  The ban on fishing in the Yangtze River affects the livelihoods of more than 200,000 retired fishermen along the coast. How did the fishermen live after they get ashore?

  At the "Catching and Repurchase" base in Huyang Town, Dangtu County, Ma'anshan City, Anhui Province, Ma Wu Day, who is over 50 years old, weed and disinfects the crab pond. "Weeds grow fast and if they are not cleaned in time, they will snatch the nutrients and growth space of crab seedlings." Ma Wuyi said.

  6 years ago, he was still a fishing "old-handed" person. In 2019, Ma'anshan started the work of fishermen who retired from fishing and transferred to production through the main stream of the Yangtze River and important tributaries. After collecting the Internet and getting ashore, Ma Wuyi's family moved into the resettlement house.

  Dangtu County has also introduced a support policy for "accusation and transfer of maintenance". Like many local fishermen, Ma May Day signed up to participate in free breeding technology training courses held by counties and towns to learn fish and crab breeding. In order to dispel fishermen's concerns about changing production, Dangtu County's "Catching and Restoring" base has also set up a special working group to arrange a technician for each converted fisherman, and provide free technical guidance from pond disinfection to feed feeding, disease prevention and control.

  During this year's breeding season, Ma May Day released 1,700 kilograms of crab seedlings and more than 600 kilograms of shrimp seedlings. "The crabs are good. It's only May, and the largest one is already one or two. The profit is definitely not bad," said Ma Wuyi.

  Since the ten-year fishing ban in the Yangtze River was fully launched, in order to effectively implement the resettlement guarantee for retired fishermen, human resources and social security, civil affairs, agriculture and rural areas and other departments at all levels have continued to strengthen follow-up investigation and dynamic monitoring of preventing relapse into poverty, stabilize employment, strengthen security, and promote income growth. As of the end of the first quarter of this year, all 145,000 retired fishermen with employment ability and willingness across the country have been transferred to employment, 220,000 qualified retired fishermen have participated in basic pension insurance, and 12,000 fishermen with difficulties in their lives have been included in the minimum living allowance scope.

  The on-site promotion meeting for the ten-year fishing ban in the Yangtze River also proposed that although some retired fishermen have basic livelihoods, their employment is still unstable and they need to continue to pay attention to overall assistance and assistance. According to reports, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will work with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and other departments to continue to implement various differentiated policies and measures, continue to strengthen livelihood security for fishermen, encourage and support local areas to develop facility fisheries, "fishing and transfer" bases, etc., and fully stimulate the endogenous motivation of fishermen who have retired fishing.

  Thousands of chemical enterprises have been closed, modified, moved and transferred, embarking on the road of green development

  Recently, this period is the egg-laying and breeding period of some indigenous fish in the Taihu Lake Basin, and it is also a period when illegal fishing is prone to occur.

  "There are people driving ships outside the Tingzi Port of Dongtaihu, and it is suspected that wire mesh is used for illegal fishing." Late at night, the online patrol of the "Taihu Sword" information supervision platform showed that there was a situation. Law enforcement officers immediately dispatched the law enforcement boat and rushed to the scene under the precise guidance of the fixed-wing drone hanging during the long voyage. In less than 20 minutes, all the people and stolen were captured.

  During the interview, the reporter learned that in many provinces along the Yangtze River, illegal fishing and disguised fishing still occur. In addition, there are many new methods of stealing and fishing such as unmanned ships and dark webs under GPS positioning, which makes it more difficult to crack down on investigation, punishment, and evidence collection.

  Cross-regional and cross-departmental, build a solid line of defense for fishing and defense, and jointly protect the clear water of a river. The Henan waters at the junction of Henan and Hubei have established a buffer zone of about 6,000 acres to strengthen the supervision of the junction waters; Shanghai focuses on areas prone to illegal fishing crimes such as the Yangtze River Estuary, Qingpu Dianshan Lake, and further strengthens regional joint control and risk prevention with public security organs such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Yangtze River shipping... In recent years, more and more waters have achieved cross-regional joint law enforcement, forming a joint law enforcement pattern of water-based joint combat, land-based joint management, and market joint investigation.

  The ecological environment protection and restoration of the Yangtze River has the problem in the water and its roots are still on the shore. In recent years, the provinces along the river and relevant departments have focused on promoting transformation and development, and thousands of chemical enterprises have been closed, modified, moved and transferred, embarking on the path of green development.

  In Baiyang Industrial Park, Yichang High-tech Zone, Hubei Province, the construction of the DoFluoro-Doyihua Central Fluorosilicon Materials Industrial Park is in full swing. "Project relocation is not a simple displacement replication, but a transformation and upgrading to high-end, intelligent and green." Huang Zhiliang, deputy chief engineer of Hubei Yihua Group Co., Ltd., said that the Xinyi Chemical Intelligent Health Factory Platform, which invested 112 million yuan in the company to build, saves 110,000 tons of standard coal per year.

  Experts pointed out that after the fishing ban on the Yangtze River, the problem of overfishing has been fundamentally solved, but the impact of factors such as migration channel barriers, water pollution, and habitat damage on aquatic organisms is still widely present, and the recovery of the Yangtze River's water ecological environment requires a long-term process.

  A relevant official from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said that in the next step, we will continue to strengthen departmental coordination and social participation, accelerate the rescue of flagship species in the Yangtze River, continue to deepen the restoration of important habitats, scientifically implement proliferation and release, strengthen aquatic biological protection, and promote the overall restoration of water ecology. (Reporters Yu Jingxian Fan Haotian Xu Jing)

[Editor in charge: Wang Di]