20 mln fish fingerlings released into China's largest freshwater lake

NANCHANG, June 7 (Xinhua) -- A total of 20 million fish fingerlings were released into Poyang Lake on Monday to further restore the biodiversity of China's largest freshwater lake in the eastern province of Jiangxi.

Some 6.5 million fish fingerlings, including mullets, Mandarin fish, and river crabs, were released from a wharf in Yugan County of Shangrao City. Meanwhile, the other 13.5 million were released in other areas by Poyang Lake.

"We aim to raise public awareness on protecting aquatic life and build a beautiful environment for Jiangxi," said Lin Feng, deputy director of the department of agriculture and rural affairs of Shangrao City.

"We have attached great importance to the recovery of biodiversity. For example, we released mullets, which are under national protection, and Mandarin fish, an economically important species. We also released benthos such as snails and shells to speed up the restoration of the benthic ecosystem," said Zhan Shupin, a fishery official in the department of agriculture and rural affairs of Jiangxi Province.

To further preserve the biodiversity of the Yangtze River, China began a 10-year fishing moratorium from the beginning of 2020 in 332 conservation areas in the Yangtze River basin. The ban was later expanded to all the natural waterways of the river and its major tributaries.

As a major tributary of the Yangtze River, Poyang Lake has seen a rapid recovery of aquatic life since the fishing ban went into effect, said Zhan.