Complete Fishing Ban on Aquatic Protected Areas in the Yangtze River in China

To carry out and implement the General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important talk on the extensive protection of Yangtze river, and the ‘No. 1 Central Document – firstly implementing complete fishing ban on aquatic protected areas in the Yangtze river’ released in 2017, the Ministry of Agriculture of China (MOA) has released a document about complete fishing ban on aquatic protected areas along the Yangtze river, which required that the departments of fishery administration along the Yangtze river basin fully understood the important significance of Yangtze river extensive protection, strengthened the sense of urgency, responsibility and mission, and promoted Yangtze river extensive protection and construction of ecological civilization.

On March 2^nd, a meeting on complete fishing ban on aquatic protected areas in the Yangtze river was held by the Ministry of Agriculture in Wuhan, Hubei province, which demanded to strengthen protection of aquatic biodiversity and ecological restoration in the Yangtze river. MOA and administrative units along the Yangtze River would help fishermen change jobs and impose the ban in a gradual way, which would supervise implementation of fishing ban in reserves. If some units do not carry out with their due duties, they would be reported and held responsible.

 ‘The Pearl River, Minjiang River, Lancang River and other important and border waters should be in accordance with the Central documents on ecological protection’, said Yu Kangzhen, Vice Minister of Agriculture, ‘the restoration should be mainly by nature under fishing ban, with the assistance of artificial restoration. Related local governments should actively explore from fishing ban in reserve to whole rivers in a gradual way, to leave enough time and space for fishery resources and ecological environment restoration’.

At the meeting, to comprehensive survey and monitor aquatic condition, MOA has launched a five-year project entitled Investigations of Aquatic Organisms and Environment in Yangtze River. At the same time, important task and priority projects for both Action Plan for Chinese Sturgeon and Action Plan for Finless Porpoise were implemented to alleviate critical situation of the two endangered flagship species.

（Translated by Dr. Li Chuangju and Dr. Ruan Rui）

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