In the distance, surrounded by rivers, mountains, and vast lawns, horses are flocked, and in the distance, the solemn national emblem hangs high, and below is a bright red banner of the "Circuit Court...... Recently, on the occasion of the 55th Earth Day, the Nan'an District People's Court heard a case of illegal fishing of aquatic products next to the waters of the Yangtze River trunk line in Nanpingba, Maliu Town, Banan District.
On July 4, 2023, defendants Zhang, Yu, Lei, and Zheng used electric fishing tools such as batteries, inverters, and electric shock rods to conduct electrofishing in the waters of the Yangtze River trunk line in Nanpingba, and captured a total of 34.2 kilograms of 6 types of catches, including carp, crucian carp, and stun rods.
After investigation, the above-mentioned electrofishing site is located in the core area of the four major carp national aquatic germplasm resources protection area in the Chongqing section of the Yangtze River, and a complete ban on fishing has been implemented from 0:00 on January 1, 2020, and the tools and methods used in the above-mentioned electrofishing are prohibited fishing tools and fishing methods.
The People's Procuratorate of Banan District, Chongqing Municipality, the public prosecution organ, then filed a public prosecution with the Nan'an District People's Court in accordance with the provisions of the Chongqing Court's centralized jurisdiction over environmental and resource cases, accusing the defendants Zhang, Yu, Lei, and Zheng of the crime of illegal fishing of aquatic products. At the same time, the public interest litigation plaintiff, the Chongqing Banan District People's Procuratorate, filed an attached civil public interest lawsuit with the Nan'an District Court.
In order to implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on the 10-year fishing ban on the Yangtze River, and promote the consensus of the whole society to "jointly grasp large-scale protection and not engage in large-scale development", the Nan'an District People's Court conducted a circuit trial of the case at the place where the case occurred, and invited more than 60 people, including some deputies to the National People's Congress and the Municipal People's Congress, members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, members of the Recreational Fishing Association and nearby villagers, to observe the trial.
After the trial, the Nan'an District Court and the Chongqing Fishing Association launched a civilized fishing initiative, calling on everyone to actively respond to the country's call to protect aquatic wildlife, accept industry self-discipline, and never touch the "red line". The judge also used the "vehicle-mounted convenience court" to give a lecture on the protection of the Yangtze River to the villagers who were observing, emphasizing that the ban on fishing in key waters of the Yangtze River basin is an important measure to promote the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and restore the vitality of the mother river of the Yangtze River, and the whole society should form a joint force to protect the Yangtze River.