Fish release program hopes to restore Yangtze River's ecosystem

More than 800 volunteers helped release the larvae, including villagers, students, and activists from NGOs.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Q: China Daily

A: Wang Yikang, freshman, Syracuse University

Q: Why are you so interested in the Jinsha River? Why do you think its ecological system needs to be restored?

A: The ecology of many of the world's natural water systems are damaged or have even been destroyed due to overuse and continuous human activity. The causes include overfishing, dams, river channels, and pollution.

This problem has piqued the interest and attention of many, myself included.

The Jinsha River is the source of the Yangtze, the world's second longest river. The majority of the Jinsha River's drainage basin is valleys with a height difference of 1000 to 3000 meters. The drainage basin covers barely 0.4 percent of China's land area, but has more than 20 percent of the country's higher plant species (embryophyta) and 25 percent of its animal species. The river is important to China, but its ecology in terms of marine life is in a bad condition and we are looking to restore that in the near future.

Q: Can you give us more details in terms of the marine life that you believe is in a bad condition?

A: There are 25 dams planned and or have been built on the Jinsha River, preventing fish from migrating. In the portion of the Jinsha River selected for this project, there are no dams, and the only cause of the decreasing marine life population is fishing. The Jinsha River's fish stocks have been exploited and are currently very weak, with some species of fish on the brink of extinction.

Fishing is the main source of income for the locals in this area of the river basin, but due to overfishing and the fishing methods used, the fish population is very low.

The fishermen use electrocution to increase production, but this kills not only the fully grown fish, but also the juvenile fish, stopping the reproductive cycle.

They have overfished in the hope of a better life, but the methods they have used are destructive and have drastically endangered several species.

Electrocution is not a sustainable fishing method, and damages not only the ecological condition of the river, but also results in the local fishermen living in poverty as there are not many fish left.

Q: How can you help local fishermen to earn more money and restore the ecosystem at the same time?

A: From our research, we can tell that fishermen only work seasonally, and spend most of the year not working. This is one of the reasons for their lack of income. We want to make use of their spare time and their expertise with the environmental restoration project and provide them with jobs in the ecotourism program, giving them another source of income.

Other members of the team have already surveyed the locals, who would like to work for the ecotourism program in the off season.

The fishermen cannot leave the Jinsha River, as fishing is their main source of income, therefore we must find alternate sources of income within their villages, which lead to our plan of starting an ecotourism industry in the fishing villages along the Jinsha River.

I am sure tourists would like to see how children can make a difference, helping the locals restore the natural ecological environment. It might also pique the interest of others to act and develop the economy of the small villages.

If we can restore the environment of this river and increase the fishermen's income, the local government would also want to advertise the program as being a good thing for the area.