Fishery law enforcement officers patrol the river. Photo by Wu Zhipeng
Yongzhou, China, December 31 (Tang Xiaoqing, Tang Zhongyu, Xie Zhumin) In the middle of winter, on the banks of the Xiangjiang River, the blue waves are rippling and wild birds are flying. In the Village section of Dajiangkou Village in Dong'an, a retired fisherman, Rong Sujiao, is inspecting a speedboat. "When you encounter water in the speedboat, you should clean it up in time." Rong Sujiao said.
Rong Sujiao and her husband are professional fishermen in Dajiangkou, Dong'an County, and during the ban on fishing and withdrawal, her family's two fishing boats, two bamboo rows and eight fishing nets were all dismantled and disposed of. With the support of the government, they successfully converted production. "The husband works in Zhejiang. Fishing is for life, fishing is prohibited for future generations, and banning fishing is a good thing related to the ecological environment, and we must support it. "Now, Rong Sujiao is both a volunteer steward of the speedboat of the Fishery Administration Law Enforcement Squadron and a volunteer cleaner of the river and both sides of the river.
The Yangtze River is one of the most typical ecological rivers in China for biodiversity. For a long time, under the influence of high-intensity human activities, rare and endemic species in the Yangtze River have continued to decline, and the amount of economic fish resources is close to depletion. Implementing the ban on fishing in key waters of the Yangtze River Basin and guiding fishermen to withdraw from fishing and switch to production are key measures to reverse the deterioration of the ecological environment of the Yangtze River. This work involves the withdrawal of more than 110,000 fishing boats, which is related to the resettlement of more than 230,000 fishermen.
Since the launch of the work of banning fishing and retiring fishing, Dong'an County has always regarded the work of prohibiting fishing and ensuring the resettlement of retired fishermen in key waters of the Yangtze River Basin as a major political task at present, and has accurately implemented policies from the aspects of compensation for the dismantling of fishing vessels, social security for fishermen who have changed production, employment assistance, etc., and implemented the compensation and recovery of separate vessels and fishing gear. At the end of 2019, 193 fishermen in the county should retire, 193 fishing boats and fishing gear should be dismantled and recycled, 152 fishing certificates were all collected and banned, and various subsidies totaling more than 14 million yuan were issued to fishermen who signed a withdrawal agreement and actually implemented the ban on fishing and retiring fish, all of which were uniformly paid by the county finance.
Staff are posting management notices. Photo by Wu Zhipeng
Since the beginning of this year, in accordance with the important goal of "ten years of fishing ban" in the Yangtze River, Dong'an has adapted to the new situation and new tasks of the law enforcement supervision of the ban on fishing, and has transformed the focus of its work from the battle of banning fishing and retiring fishing to the protracted war of law enforcement supervision in the prohibited waters, so as to achieve the normalization and long-term effectiveness of the ban on fishing. "The county has dispatched more than 180 propaganda vehicles and boats, distributed more than 25,000 copies of publicity materials, posted more than 1,200 posters on the prohibition of fishing and retiring fish, and signed more than 1,500 pledges to prohibit the sale of river fish in restaurants, making the ban on fishing a household name." Wang Zheng, deputy director of the Dong'an County Agriculture and Rural Bureau, said.
Wang Zheng introduced that the county has set up a fishery administration law enforcement squadron, actively promoted the construction of a smart fishery administration supervision system, achieved full 24-hour monitoring coverage of the Dong'an section of the Xiangjiang River, and established a "grid chief + fishery law enforcement personnel, sheriff, and fisherman" model to build a full-chain supervision and prevention network with effective management and protection.
In order to help retired fishermen withdraw from the "rivers and lakes" and go ashore with peace of mind, Dong'an County adheres to the principle of combining the resettlement of retired fishermen with the development of the agricultural industry, the placement of public welfare posts, social endowment insurance, and support at the bottom, and actively guides the retired fishermen to go ashore to transfer jobs and re-employment, and then start a business, so that they can get ashore, stand firm, seek development, and be at ease.
It is reported that the county has carried out free entrepreneurship and employment training, increased the amount of application for entrepreneurship guarantee loans, and ensured that retired fishermen can retire, stay stable, and get rich. At present, there are 277 licensed retired fishermen in the county, 277 people participating in pension insurance, with an insurance participation rate of 100%; 213 people who are willing to work and have been employed.
Rong Sujiao cleans up the rainwater inside the fishery law enforcement speedboat. Photo by Xie Zhongmin
Tang Dongmei, a fisherman in Wujiawan Village, Zixi Town, Dong'an County, passed employment training and worked as a security guard in the county seat. "After retiring from the county, my wife and I achieved re-employment in the county seat, our son and daughter-in-law worked in Guangdong, and our two grandchildren went to school in the county town, so the family lived a happier life." Tang Dongmei said.
Zhou Yimin, a retired fisherman in Zixi Town, also found a job in the county through employment training; Tang Changyong, a retired fisherman of the Shiqi Town Fishery Team, invested 750,000 yuan to set up an oil tea base in Xinhua Village of the town, planting suitable for local oil tea trees, and waiting for two years to hang fruit and put it into production.
"Since 2019, Dong'an has adhered to the integrated promotion of the prohibition of fishing and retiring fishing, guarded the clear water of one side, formed a new pattern of 'retreating', 'can be banned' and 'safe heart', and won the 2020 outstanding county and district of the province's key waters in the Yangtze River Basin." Wang Zheng said: At present, all townships, villages, and wharves along the Dong'an section of the XiangJiang River have set up warning signs and notice boards prohibiting the fish from being "electricity, poisoning, and frying" and prohibiting fishing in key waters. (End)
Source: China News Network