In the context of fishing, the scene of whales and dolphins swimming together in Dapeng Bay is a coincidence. Whether the accident can be transformed into an inevitability depends on the wisdom of the city's ocean managers.
21st Century Business Herald reporter Li Tingju Shenzhen reported that on the evening of August 30, the news that a Bushi whale was salvaged and disembarked spread throughout the "circle of friends" of Shenzhen people.
Subsequently, the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Marine Fisheries issued a notice confirming that on August 30, the Dapeng Brigade of the Shenzhen Marine Comprehensive Law Enforcement Detachment found a Body of a Bushi whale in the waters bordering Egong Bay and Shenzhen-Hong Kong, and the Municipal Marine Fisheries Department immediately organized salvage and on-site investigation. However, since the body had swelled and decayed, further investigation was needed to determine the cause of its death. Chen Bingyao, deputy director of the "Beibu Gulf Cetacean Research and Conservation Center" of the Fourth Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources and professor of the College of Life Sciences of Nanjing Normal University, said, "The investigation of the cause of death of this Bushi whale, I personally think it is very difficult, first of all, the body has no obvious trauma, there is no fishing net entanglement, and because it has been dead for a period of time, even if it is immediately carried out, in fact, some of its biochemical indicators are difficult to obtain." But scientific research institutions will certainly try to investigate and analyze to see if there can be new discoveries. Chen Bingyao is the head of the scientific research team that first discovered and studied Brinell whales in China, and has been engaged in cetacean population ecology, conservation biology and toxicological ecology since 2004.
On the evening of the day the whale was salvaged ashore, White Thorn (pseudonym) rushed to the scene. He saw the sunset, the sky was full of sunset, and the crane on the shore slowly lifted a huge object from the surface of the water and wrapped it in a white cloth. There was also a fishy smell in the air. The white thorn's heart was heavy, like the body of a whale, looking at the cruel and heart-wrenching picture: it was a silhouette under the sunset, a big fish was hoisted out of the water, leaving the ocean, slowly rising...
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="5" > small cloth</h1>
It is now impossible to determine that this Buddy whale that has just "left" is the "small cloth" that has recently touched countless Shenzhen people.
On June 29, a national first-class protected animal, The Bruce of the Whale, appeared in the waters of Dapeng Bay in Shenzhen. This huge and fresh animal attracts a lot of attention. The favored eyes of the public and research institutions are flocking to the public, and the protection work of the competent marine departments and law enforcement agencies is frequently dispatched. The whale, nicknamed "Xiaobu", was once described as a "toilet lid" and "happy to cook" in the waters off Shenzhen. For Shenzhen, an ocean city where cetacean marine life has become less common since the 1980s, the appearance of Xiaobu has also brought it great praise.
(A Brinell's whale is active in the waters off Shenzhen.) Wang Ziyue /Photography)
In the past two months, this juvenile Bushi whale with a body length of more than 8 meters has been in good health, often hunting and playing in the nearshore bays of Dapeng, which has attracted many citizens to take pictures of it eating with its mouth open. The scene of the seabirds it attracts soaring between the sea and the sky, and the scene of fish and birds accompanying each other makes countless Shenzhen people believe that Xiaobu will soon "live and work in peace" in the Dapeng Sea area of Shenzhen, becoming a witness to the attractiveness of Shenzhen's ecological environment.
Bai Xiaojing (pseudonym), the head of a marine public welfare organization in Shenzhen, is one of them. Since the discovery of the cloth, The White Thorn and volunteers have been observing its trajectory for more than a month, making heat maps of its frequently haunted sea areas on a map, hoping that these data will provide a scientific basis for studying the distribution of marine life.
The relevant departments in Shenzhen have also done everything in their power to protect Xiaobu, and the maritime department has advocated that citizens and fishing vessels should not come close and maintain safe speed; the ecological environment department and the fishery administration department have carried out joint law enforcement actions. At the same time, research was launched on the establishment of a fishing ban zone in Shenzhen's coastal waters; on August 16, the opening day of the South China Sea, the relevant departments also called on 42 fishing boats to jointly make way for Xiaobu and avoid entering its active waters to fish under the net.
However, with joy, many ecological and environmental protection people have always had a hint of hidden worry, believing that Xiaobu's fate is more sinister and less auspicious, worried that the fishing boats fishing under the net will accidentally hurt Xiaobu, worried that marine garbage will make Xiaobu "unable to eat" one day, worried that the arrival of the fishing season will make Xiaobu lose the paradise of "dry rice"...
Because of this, when he learned that the dead Bruce whale carcass had been found, the white little thorn was nervous.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="14" > Fisheries: a problem that humans and marine life cannot avoid</h1>
Shenzhen is located on the seashore and has a sea area of 1145 square kilometers, 260.5 kilometers of coastline and 51 islands. Shenzhen is born to the sea, Shenzhen Dapeng Bay, Huizhou Daya Bay offshore area in the subtropical and tropical climate transition zone environment is complex and changeable, marine biological resources are rich, a wide variety of species, is the South China Sea a variety of economic fish germplasm resources, but also one of the South China Sea fishery resources of the seedling bank.
Since ancient times, Shenzhen has maintained a companionship with marine life with fishing, the oldest industrial form of mankind. At the same time, marine mammals play their rise and fall stories in this part of the sea.
The 21st Century Business Herald reporter learned that historically, the seafood in Shenzhen is very rich, the ecological types of fish and shrimp fauna are diverse, it is the habitat and spawning breeding place of a variety of economic fish, shrimp, crabs, shrimp and mastoids, cephalopods and a variety of high-quality shellfish, more than 400 kinds of biological resources with economic value, more than 200 kinds of economic fish, more than 40 species of marine fish with high economic value, 8 species of shrimp, and more than 10 kinds of shellfish.
White Thorn has been following the discovery of cetacean marine mammals in Dapeng Bay for nearly two years, and from December to February, tourists and locals often witness stranded and dead finless porpoises on the coast of the Dapeng Peninsula. According to his incomplete statistics, since February 2019, a total of 1 Brucell whale has been recorded, and 29 finless porpoises have died. Some of these finless porpoises had significant trauma, and the cause of death cannot be determined.
According to The White Thorn, on the sea area of more than 100 square kilometers of Dapeng Bay, where Xiaobu is active, there is a national first-class protected animal (Bushi whale) and a national second-class protected animal, including sperm whale, Indo-Pacific porpoise and dozens of species of stony coral. "If on land, such a place would have been designated as a protected area for a long time, and hunting is prohibited."
"Fishing nets from fishing boats and propellers from yachts can hurt these protected animals. The fishing industry, which competes with marine animals for food, is also in competition with them. White Thorn said. The sperm whale that ran aground in Daya Bay in 2017 was first spotted with fishing nets, and divers took a lot of effort to cut them open.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="21" > no-fishing zone: the wisdom of ocean managers</h1>
In fact, Shenzhen's sea area is not without protected areas, and Shenzhen Bay is one of them. There have always been many policies to ban fishing, and policy discussions on "global fishing bans" have also been ongoing.
Since May 1, 2014, the former Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Oceanography and Fisheries has approved the establishment of a five-year Shenzhen Bay Fishing Ban Zone, which has imposed a year-round fishing ban on the 23 square kilometers of the east side of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Cross-Sea Bridge, prohibiting all fishing and aquaculture, which has played an important role in cracking down on illegal fishing. On January 7, 2019, in view of the obvious effect on the protection of fishery resources and the improvement of the ecological environment in the bay since the establishment of the Shenzhen Bay Fishing Ban Zone, the shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Oceanography reported that the validity period of the Shenzhen Bay FishIng Ban Zone was extended for a further period of 5 years to April 30, 2024.
The sea area in the eastern part of Shenzhen has not been established as a fishing ban zone, and the fishery industry in the dapeng Bay area has always followed the policy of the fishing moratorium in the South China Sea (Circular of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on Adjusting the Marine Seasonal Fishing Moratorium Regime). From May 1 to mid-August every year, fisheries in the South China Sea (including the Gulf of Tonkin) north of 12 degrees north latitude must comply with the three-and-a-half-month marine seasonal fishing moratorium.
Xiaobu's arrival also seems to coincide with the fishing moratorium, and has been active in the Dapeng Bay and the Waters of Dameisha in yantian district since his visit on June 29.
(Brinell's whales are active in coastal harbor waters.) Wang Ziyue /Photography)
On August 18, in order to avoid the marine production operations and boats harming the Brinell whales after fishing, the relevant departments in Shenzhen set up a 64-square-kilometer temporary control area for the protection of Brinell's whales in Dapeng Bay, prohibiting fishing boats and yachts from entering the control area for fishing operations around the clock, which made many marine conservationists briefly relieved.
People have always been worried that in addition to illegal fishing, normal and legal fishing may also accidentally injure Xiaobu.
The reporter learned from the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources that marine mammals need to breathe air on the surface of the water, and the noise generated by large container ships, LNG ships, cargo ships, speed boats, fishing boats, fishing nets, etc. at sea may interfere with their actions, and the entanglement of fishing nets will cause them to be inconvenient to move, and it is difficult to hunt when the swimming speed decreases. Marine mammals may be stopped or entangled in heavy fishing nets when they float, preventing them from floating to the surface and drowning. The widespread presence of floating garbage in the ocean will also cause marine animals to be ingested by mistake, the stomach is difficult to digest, and long-term accumulation will cause them to be unable to eat, and eventually lead to death.
In Bai Xiaojing's view, although the relevant departments and environmentalists in Shenzhen have done a lot of protection work for the Brinell whale in the past two months, they still cannot avoid the death of the Brinell whale, which is a test of the wisdom of marine managers.
In his view, the interests of Xiaobu and fishing groups are contradictory and conflicting. "Xiaobu is coming, and citizens and environmental groups hope that Xiaobu will stay here to bring people the breath of the wild ocean, and there will be a temporary control area." However, fishermen cannot go in to fish, and the interests of sightseeing boats in sea fishing and soliciting customers will also be affected. Have these interests been straightened out before the establishment of the control zone? Headache cures the head and foot pain, and it turns out that it does not play a protective role. White Thorn said. In his view, the survival of a fishing vessel control area is subject to an animal, which is a management method with thick lines. The policy needs to have long-term planning and investigation, and to release the information of the plan, so that the public knows where the marine entertainment area, where the scientific research area and where the protected area will be in the future. Fishermen can make corresponding prejudgments and investment decisions after they know, whether to sell fishing boats or not, and prepare for industrial transformation in advance.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="33" > Global Fishing Ban: What is the Economic Cost? </h1>
In the view of Bai Xiaojing, the ban on fishing in the near shore is an important means to restore marine biodiversity, and it is imperative to ban fishing throughout the year. The establishment of inshore fishing ban zones is an important part of the construction of marine-type national parks, a reasonable requirement for the development of sustainable fisheries in the world, and a common practice in economically developed coastal zones abroad.
The reporter learned that the closed fishing area refers to the water where all fishing production or certain types of fishing gear operations are prohibited. The no-fishing zone is a specific water area for the protection of fishery resources for reproduction, and is an important and effective measure to protect fish resources or other aquatic economic animals from normal spawning, reproduction, larval growth, wintering, and maintaining regional ecological balance. The waters where the fishing ban is located, especially the shallow seas within 40 meters of the coast, are the estuaries of many land rivers and streams, with fertile water quality and abundant bait, which is a breeding ground and juvenile fertilization area for a variety of economic fish and shrimp, and a dense area for reproductive groups during the reproductive season. The prohibition of fishing in these areas or the prohibition of the operation of a certain efficient fishing gear fishing method or the prohibition of the fishing of a declining species are of great significance for protecting and improving the re-production capacity of fishery resources, maintaining the ecological balance of fisheries, and establishing a good fishery ecological cycle system.
Chen Pimao, director and researcher of the Resource Conservation and Marine Ranch Research Office of the South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, told 21 reporters that many countries in the modern world have attached great importance to the establishment of no-fishing zones, and the Soviet Union, Britain, the United States, Japan, France and other countries have joined, and the "International Whaling Convention" that came into effect in 1948 has made provisions for no-fishing zones. Since the 1970s, in order to protect their offshore fishery resources, many coastal countries in the world have successively set up different types of fishing ban zones (such as exclusive fishing areas, 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zones, Indian Ocean no-fishing zones that prohibit commercial whaling, etc.), issuing licenses to foreign fishing vessels that enter the closed fishing areas, stipulating the time and type of fishing, fishing gear used and the limit of the amount of fishing, and violators are fined or detained fishing boats. After nearly a hundred years of implementation, the international community has fully affirmed the value of the measures of the no-fishing zone for fishery protection. The establishment of no-fishing zones has become an international development direction for the protection of fishery resources and the maintenance of their ecological balance.
However, if Shenzhen implements a "year-round fishing ban", will it have a significant impact on the economy, employment and consumption of Shenzhen's offshore fisheries? What will happen to the lives of local fishermen after the fishing ban?
The 21st Century Business Herald reporter learned that the main industrial forms of Shenzhen's aquatic industry are marine aquaculture, fishing and recreational fisheries.
Chen Pimao told reporters that the marine aquaculture industry in Shenzhen is mainly distributed in the sea area of Dapeng New Area, mainly including Nan'ao Bay - Yang domain bay marine aquaculture area, Egong Bay marine aquaculture area, Dapeng Ao marine aquaculture area, Baisha Bay marine aquaculture area and other 4 marine aquaculture areas, the main breeding methods are cage culture, shallow sea aquaculture. There are many species cultured, including seabass, cobia, yellowfin seabream, black snapper, American redfish, grouper, merry cod and ovate pomfret;
In 2020, the aquaculture area is 200 hectares, the output is 2578 tons, and the aquaculture output value is 211 million yuan (mariculture output value is 141 million yuan, aquatic fry output value is 0.7 billion yuan). At the same time, in 2020, the marine fishing output of Dapeng New Area will be 1246 tons, and the output value will be 0.68 billion yuan.
During the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, with the acceleration of Shenzhen's urbanization construction, Dapeng New Area, as the only representative of Guangdong Province, was identified as a national-level tourism reform and innovation pilot zone, and recreational fisheries have also developed rapidly. Dapeng New Area is rich in coastal natural landscapes and fishery intangible culture and other tourism resources, such as Nan'ao, Dongshan and Shayu Bay in the fishing port, Nan'ao, Egong Bay, Ling'ao and Dongshan in the breeding area, Dongchong-Xichong and Egong Bay in the artificial reef area have tried to carry out leisure fishery development, and more than 10 tourism projects such as Dongxi chung Beach, Lutsui Tourist Resort, Lang riding yacht club, Seven Star Bay Yacht Club and Bichangwei are distributed along the coast. The total number of tourists on the Dapeng Peninsula is forecast to be 18 million to 20 million per year, of which 12 million to 13 million in the peak season from April to October and 6 million to 7 million in the off-season.
On the one hand, from the perspective of aquatic fishery output value, according to the "Dapeng New Area 2020 National Economic and Social Development Statistical Communiqué" (Dapeng New Area Statistics Bureau, May 21, 2021), after preliminary approval by the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Statistics, the region achieved a regional GDP of 34.035 billion yuan, calculated at comparable prices, an increase of 0.2% over the previous year (the same below). Among them, the added value of the primary industry was 120 million yuan, an increase of 37.1%; the added value of the secondary industry was 20.052 billion yuan, down 4.6%; the added value of the tertiary industry was 13.864 billion yuan, an increase of 8.0%; the proportion of the tertiary industry was 0.35:58.91:40.73. The total annual output of aquatic products was 3852 tons, of which 3824 tons were seafood and 28 tons were freshwater products.
It can be seen from the added value of the primary industry to which the fishery belongs (120 million yuan) that its proportion of regional GDP (34.035 billion yuan) is extremely small, less than 1%. The gap with the added value of the secondary and tertiary industries (including tourism, service industries, etc.) is also quite large.
Compared with recreational fisheries, according to the forecast of 18 million to 20 million tourists in the Dapeng Peninsula, if each tourist spends only 100 yuan to Go to Dapeng, the tourism income brought by tourists may reach nearly 200 million yuan, exceeding the added value of the primary industry brought by the fishing industry.
It can be seen that if the fishing ban is implemented, it will have a minimal impact on the local GDP of Dapeng. At the same time, coupled with the development of moderate tourism, it will further increase the tourism and tourism industry income of the Dapeng Peninsula, make Dapeng a tourism distribution center in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, increase the reputation of Dapeng and even Shenzhen, and is of great significance to Shenzhen to build a marine center city.
On the other hand, from the perspective of the impact of the ban on the consumption of fishing seafood, Chen Pimao said that during the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" period, the marine fishing industry in Dapeng New Area has undergone major adjustments, from traditional offshore fishing to the outer sea, high seas and other deep seas, and the fishing species have also been converted from small and medium-sized fish in the offshore to large high-value varieties such as tuna. Chen Pimao believes that as far as marine fishing in Dapeng New Area is concerned, if fishing is banned, it will have little impact on marine fishing output and aquatic products on the table. Given that aquaculture production in 2020 (2578 tonnes) is twice the marine capture production (1246 tonnes), if a fishing ban is imposed, mainly for fishing, it will not affect the original legal mariculture industry and the original supply of mariculture aquatic products.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="47" > fishermen: encourage the conversion of production to create recreational fisheries</h1>
In addition, the global ban on fishing may have an impact on the relevant practitioners of the marine fishing industry on the Dapeng Peninsula, and the relevant departments need to guide the relevant departments on how to find new livelihoods for fishermen.
According to statistics, Shenzhen has 324 registered marine fishing vessels in 2020, with 8768.4 kW. South Australian fisherman Ah Chang has been fishing in Dapeng for many years, and his boat belongs to one of these 324 ships. Like many of Dapeng's fishermen from other places such as Huizhou, Zhanjiang, Heyuan and Shenzhen outside the province, Ah Chang is not a native. "But it's already as dark as the locals." He laughed. Many local fishermen have not done fishing for a long time, and opening homestays, doing foreign trade, and providing tourism services are their better choices.
According to his estimates, small fishing boats generally have 2 crew members and large boats have 10 people, and based on an average of 6 fishermen per boat, all offshore fishing boats in Shenzhen have less than 2,000 fishermen. He said that this year's harvest of net fishing is not good, and the season of good fishing is just the period of fishing ban. "You can't make money. People who had made money in the past had turned to others; those who had not made money were still struggling to recover the money for renting and buying boats. Ah Chang said.
Chen Pimao said that most of the registered marine fishing vessels in Shenzhen in 2020 are small-scale fishing vessels operating offshore, which have many safety hazards, low production capacity and efficiency, and damage to resources and the environment. He said that Shenzhen has always attached great importance to the protection of fishery resources and ecological environment in Shenzhen's waters, and has long implemented measures such as the restoration of coral reefs and mangroves, the construction of artificial reefs and marine pastures, and the enhancement and stocking of fishery resources.
In Bai Xiaojing's view, the nearshore fishery on the Dapeng Peninsula should also enter a contraction and slowly disappear.
(In recent years, Shenzhen's leisure tourism fishery has attracted a large number of tourists.) Li Tingju /Photography)
Chen Pimao pointed out that if a global fishing ban is implemented, Shenzhen's registered marine fishing vessels in 2020 can refer to the "Notice on Adjusting the Oil Price Subsidy Policy for Domestic Fishing and Aquaculture Industry to Promote the Sustainable and Healthy Development of Fishery" (Caijian [2015] No. 499) and the "Overall Implementation Plan for the Adjustment of the Oil Price Subsidy Policy for Domestic Fishing and Aquaculture Industry in Guangdong Province" (Guangdong Haiyu [2016] No. 88). On the basis of the voluntary participation of fishermen, through the method of government redemption, guide fishermen to eliminate fishing boats, redeem and eliminate registered marine fishing vessels, change production and business, reduce fishing intensity, and promote the optimization and adjustment of the production structure of the fishing industry, so as to ensure the effective management of the fishing ban area in Shenzhen and the effective protection of resources and environment, and achieve the goals of protecting ecology, people's livelihood and stability.
Chen Pimao further said: "If the ban on fishing is implemented, in the process of implementation, we should strengthen publicity and education, so that fishermen and the masses have a process of gradual acceptance. In particular, it is necessary to promote the conversion of some suitable fishing vessels into recreational fishing vessels, and to carry out recreational fishery operations in the sea areas where recreational fisheries can be carried out in the prohibited fishing areas, which can effectively promote the conversion of fishermen to production and increase income. Recreational fisheries have a high degree of industrial relevance, which can drive the development of other related industries such as catering and tourism, transportation, retail, and handicrafts, and the income of leisure fisheries driven by related industries can reach 10 times the direct income. ”
The 21st Century Business Herald reporter learned that at present, the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources (Shenzhen Municipal Marine Fisheries Bureau) is taking the lead in carrying out preliminary research on the new offshore fishing ban area and expanding the scope of protection of marine fishery resources. Whether or not a fishing ban zone will be established in the whole sea area and how the scope will be set is still being solicited.
According to Chen Pimao, who participated in the research work, at present, the main research idea for the establishment of the Shenzhen Sea Fishing Ban Zone is based on the "Guangdong Provincial Marine Ecological Red Line" and "Guangdong Provincial Marine Functional Zoning" as the benchmark, according to local conditions, classification and control. First, the current effective Fishing Ban Zone of Shenzhen Bay and other sea areas with active international exchanges and great influence can be set as first-level fishing ban zones, and control measures can be set to prohibit all fishing and breeding behaviors throughout the year. Second, the prohibited redline areas of nature reserves and restricted redline areas of nature reserves delineated by the "Guangdong Marine Ecological Redline" can be set as secondary fishing ban areas, and control measures can be set to prohibit all fishing behaviors at all times of the year. Third, other types of restricted redline areas delineated by the "Guangdong Provincial Marine Ecological Redline", as well as agricultural and fishery areas, port and shipping areas, industrial and urban sea areas, tourism and leisure entertainment areas, and reserved areas of the "Guangdong Marine Functional Zoning" that have not delineated marine ecological redlines, can be set as three-level fishing ban areas, and control measures can be set to prohibit all fishing behaviors at all times of the year except for legal recreational fisheries.
In the eyes of historians, primitive humans bid farewell to the turbulent life of hunter-gatherer and chose the way of living of farming and breeding, marking the opening of the progressive ladder of the agricultural revolution. Ah Chang is also looking forward to "retiring to the fish and going ashore" a day earlier, but he does not know when he will be able to drive a yacht.
(Author: Li Tingju Editor: Li Yanxia)