Ministry of Agriculture and Shanghai Municipal Government Organize Cleanup of the Shanghai Section of the Yangtze River Waters

This website news  On April 9, the joint law enforcement action for cleaning up and rectifying illegal fishing in the Shanghai section of the Yangtze River waters was launched in Shanghai. Vice Minister of Agriculture Yu Kangzhen, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Zhang Endi and others attended the launch ceremony.

This joint law enforcement action was initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Shanghai Municipal Government, with the participation of more than ten units including the Shanghai-based units of relevant departments such as the Coast Guard, Maritime Safety Administration, Public Security, and Waterway Administration, relevant departments and local governments of Shanghai, the Jiangsu Provincial Ocean and Fisheries Bureau, and the Zhejiang Provincial Ocean and Fisheries Bureau. More than 20 law enforcement vessels and more than 200 law enforcement personnel were mobilized to participate in the action. The joint law enforcement action began on April 9 and ended on June 30, lasting nearly 3 months. It coincided with the 2015 Yangtze River fishing ban period. The main task objective was to clean up and ban various prohibited fishing gear existing in these waters, such as deep-water stake nets, three-layer gillnets, inserted nets, and eel fry nets, and to investigate and deal with illegal fishing by “three-no” vessels in accordance with the law.

In order to severely crack down on illegal fishing, the Ministry of Agriculture has continuously organized special cleanup and rectification actions since 2013. With the close collaboration and joint efforts of relevant departments at all levels across the country, the national cleanup and rectification work has achieved phased results. A large number of prohibited fishing gear has been cleaned up and destroyed, and the relevant standards and norms system and long-term management mechanism have also been gradually improved. However, driven by economic interests, in specific waters and specific periods in some places, various forms of “nets that wipe out entire families” are used in large quantities. The use of prohibited fishing gear and illegal fishing by “three-no” vessels is relatively common, causing serious harm to aquatic biological resources. The situation for cleanup and rectification remains severe, and the task remains arduous.

This joint law enforcement action is codenamed “Qingjiang Action”, intended to carry forward the spirit of “driving nails”, to carry out clearing-style cleanup and banning of existing illegal practices, effectively curb illegal fishing in this river section, effectively protect fishery resources and ecological security, vigorously promote the construction of harmonious fishing areas and ecological civilization, protect flowing water and green mountains, and ensure clear water flows forever. In the future, the Ministry of Agriculture will continuously summarize and improve the work experience of large-scale joint law enforcement actions. Based on situations such as reports from the public, public opinion feedback, and work supervision, it will organize similar joint law enforcement actions from time to time in key areas and waters where violations of laws and regulations occur frequently, promote the resolution of prominent difficult problems existing in management, and on this basis continuously improve the normal and long-term mechanism, effectively advancing the conservation of aquatic biological resources and the construction of water-area ecological civilization.