Rouge appeared in the Yangtze River and was once known as the "Asian Mermaid"

Two cochineal fish accidentally caught by fishermen Correspondent Xiong Xuejun photo

At 6:00 a.m. on September 28, He Changsheng, a fisherman in Youxi Town, collected his nets in the Youxi section of the Yangtze River, preparing to take the caught fish to the morning market for sale, and just arrived at the riverside to pour the fish into the bucket, and two beautiful fish attracted the attention of the surrounding fishermen.

"Old Ho, you caught two fish today, swimming so slowly, I haven't seen it." "This fish looks like a mermaid on TV, and you're going to take peach blossom luck today." Everyone gathered around, and you said a word to me, guessing the "birth" of the two fish.

He Changsheng, who had been fishing in the Yangtze River for more than 20 years, had never seen such a fish before, and he realized that he might have caught rare fish, so he quickly took out two fish out of the bucket and put them in a porcelain basin to protect them.

"Old Ho, you see these two fish actually changed color, I have only heard of chameleon discoloration before, I have not heard that fish can change color, you have caught the baby today." Wang Yong, who was on the side, saw the "mermaid" change color and shouted loudly.

At this time, He Changsheng dialed the telephone number of the Agricultural Service Center of Youxi Town. After the staff of the Agricultural Service Center learned of the situation, they rushed to the scene together with experts from the Jiangjin Fishery Administration Department. These two fish were identified as the rouge fish, a rare freshwater species endemic to China.

"The cochineal belongs to the cyprinid family cyprinids and grows in the Yangtze River system. Wild cochineal is a national grade II protected wild animal in China. Cochineal is the only sub-mouth fish known to be distributed in China, one of the five rare fish species in China, and has the reputation of "Asian mermaid". According to the person in charge of the Agricultural Service Center, the cochineal fish has a peculiar body shape and bright colors, and will change its body color with changes in mood.

Measured on site, the two cochineals caught were 30 cm long, 12 cm wide and weighed 250 g; One tail is 22 cm long, 8.5 cm wide, weighs 150 g, and is about 1 year old. Subsequently, the staff and fishermen jointly released two cochineal fish back into the Yangtze River.

"We often educate fishermen about the importance of protecting fishery resources, and now fishermen have a stronger awareness of protecting rare fish." According to the person in charge, in recent years, fishermen have caught 2 Chinese sturgeon and 4 rouge fish in the Oil Creek section of the Yangtze River and released them.

At the same time, the reporter learned in the fishery administration department that the survival of cochineal has high requirements for water quality, breeding in the aquarium environment has not been successfully recorded, their appearance marks the good water quality of the Yangtze River section, the dissolved oxygen concentration in the water is high, and it is more suitable for wild fish to breed and survive.

(Reporter Xiao Yan Correspondent Xu Guiping)