- Gordon Dumoulin
Complete fishing ban for Asia's longest 6,300km river
Complete fishing ban on the Yangtze river (长江), Asia’s longest river since January 1st.
The Chinese government already implemented a ban last year to stop fishing at 332 dedicated conservation sites along the river. From January 1st 2021, this policy has been extended to a complete 10-year fishing ban for the whole river and its key tributaries.
The fishing ban on the 6,300 km long river, running from the Tibetan plateau to the East China sea (Shanghai) has been imposed to revive drastically reduced fish stocks, save endangered fish species such as the Chinese sturgeon, and curb the harsh decades-long decline of the diverse biodiversity in the river.
The Yangtze river is one of the core lifelines since ancient times for China and its great cities along the river such as Chongqing, Wuhan, Nanjing or Shanghai.
The ban has dramatically affected the lives of about 280,000 fishermen and related industries. Compensation and re-schooling programs have been put into life to alleviate the impact. Some fishermen have been trained to become river patrollers to protect the ecological environments.
A drastic but necessary decision in the battle against pollution and environmental degradation.
