"To satisfy the appetites of some people."
They take risks at all costs."
Wild river dough in restaurants
In early July 2020, Police in Chongqing received reports that someone had used electric fishing to fish illegally. Chen You (pseudonym), who was reported for illegal fishing, ran a local restaurant, and when questioned in person, the store claimed that the fish sold were farmed, but when the police called the restaurant as a diner to book a banquet and asked if there were any wild river tuan fish, the store gave a different explanation.
In December 2019, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued Circular No. 4, which from January 1, 2020, the National Nature Reserve for Rare and Endemic Fish in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River and the Aquatic Germplasm Resources Conservation Area are completely prohibited from productive fishing.
After investigation, the buyers who opened restaurants once bought hundreds of pounds of river tuan from Chen You. Bao Mou, who opened a hotel, bought the 100 jin jiangtuan from Chen You at the market price of 200 yuan a catty. According to the identification of experts, from the perspective of body shape and body color, these fish belong to wild fish that grow naturally in the rivers.
Aquatic experts found traces of electric shocks on the frozen Death River Tuan, judging from which the fishermen used electric fishing machines that were prohibited by law, in addition to the three layers of nets used by the fishermen. The three-layer net, also known as the "net of the dead", will catch all the small fry.
The cliff side stages the speed of life and death
During the operation, seven arrest teams squatted by the river all night. At 19:00 on September 26, 2020, the police found that several fishermen drove fishing boats to fish, this time Chen You himself drove to pick up the goods.
At 3:00 a.m. the next day, the police prepared to intercept Chen You's car. Chen You did not stop, but fled at a speed of about 100 km / h.
Several groups stood guard at the spot where Chen You might have absconded, and the police who followed Chen You's vehicle drove for more than 100 kilometers to reach the territory of Changshou in Chongqing, where Chen You's father-in-law's family was located. Under the bed of Chen You's father-in-law's house, the police arrested him.
While the police chased Chen You, another road has detained the illegal fishing boat, and the 6 suspects who carried out fishing have been arrested.
The next morning, all 14 suspects were brought to justice. At the scene of hiding the stolen goods, the police found Chen You's wild fish on the Yangtze River hidden in the grass. According to Chen You, they have carried out 20 illegal fishing, up to 108 kilograms of fish at a time. It is understood that from May 2020 to the time of being caught, the gang illegally fished more than 1,000 kilograms of fish, worth about 200,000 yuan.
Different options after the ban on fishing
Chen You, 40, was once a fisherman and also ran a restaurant by the river, with the Yangtze River fish on its sign. In January 2020, fishing was banned in the Yangtze River basin of Chongqing, and the local government compensated Chen You with a one-time compensation of 200,000 yuan in November 2019, but he was still worried about his livelihood when he was accustomed to relying on water.
Restaurants that specialize in wild Yangtze River fish have also lost a lot of business after there is no signboard for wild fish. After more than 5 months of fishing ban, the ecology of the Yangtze River improved, jiangtuan such popular fish by diners gradually more, Chen You found that the Yangtze River Wooden Cave section of the river tuan more, and the surrounding sparse population, although the river tuan has long realized artificial breeding, but compared with the wild price difference of 10 times, he greeted 6 old guys, choose to carry out illegal fishing.
Like Chen You, the 6 people he hired to fish were also fishermen, and after the Introduction of the Yangtze River Fishing Ban Policy, the local government also gave 200,000 compensation. Chen You and 7 others have been prosecuted by chongqing procuratorates on suspicion of illegal fishing for aquatic products, while 7 people who bought stolen goods have been prosecuted on suspicion of concealing and concealing the proceeds of crime. The restaurateur who privately bought wild fish from the Yangtze River was released on bail pending further investigation.
According to experts, some high-tech fishing "artifacts" are a disaster for fish. In addition, the use of methods such as electricity, poison, and frying during the fishing ban period should be criminalized regardless of whether there is a catch or not. Article 340 of the Criminal Law stipulates that whoever, in violation of the laws and regulations on the protection of aquatic resources, catches aquatic products in a prohibited fishing area, during a fishing ban period, or uses prohibited tools or methods, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, public surveillance or a fine.
During the ten-year fishing ban, local governments in the Yangtze River Basin took a number of measures to solve the livelihood problems of fishermen. Some fishermen have set up pig farms with the help of the government, and some fishermen have changed from fishermen to river guards. Young fishermen learn new technologies, successfully switch industries and become aquaculturists. Since the ban on fishing was imposed in Bazhong, Sichuan, located in the upper reaches of Chongqing, the local government has promoted the traditional rice and fish farming technology, and many fishermen have expanded into diversified farms.
2021 is the first year of a ten-year ban on fishing in the Yangtze River Basin, and today, in many sections of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, finless porpoises gather to play, take bait, and red-billed gulls eat fish in the Yangtze River. Similar scenes appear frequently, proving that the improvement of the ecological environment has achieved initial results.
Source: CCTV Today