China has released billions of fish seedlings across the country and into its seas to mark Fish Release Day, a government initiative to increase awareness about rehabilitation of fish stocks.
State TV and newspapers across China have run images of government-organized mass releases of fish seedlings. Local branches of the Communist Party teamed up with the Xiamen Ocean and Geography University to release 100,000 head of porgy seedlings, while the province of Shandong has released 370 million seedlings.
At the same time, across China, the propaganda bureaus of the Communist Party have gone into overdrive to promote a clampdown on illegal fishing. State TV ran courtroom footage from a case in the city of Changsha, where two culprits were given three-year jail sentences for illegally catching 17 kilograms of fish from the River Xiang, a tributary of the Yangtze.
Police also distributed photos to media of the capture of two men for illegal fishing on the Yangtze River near Chongqing. The arrests of the two fishermen – and seizure of a dinghy and nets – were the result of “interdepartmental cooperation” between police, environment, and commerce bureaus of government, according to a police statement accompanying the photos.
The vigor with which China is currently pursuing its fish conservation and replenishment campaign will be of interest to international bodies seeking China’s support for international conservation efforts.
Photo courtesy of Chongqing Police Department
