Heilongjiang is the third longest river in China, and it is also a famous Sino-Russian boundary river, of which the upstream and upstream left banks are in China' territory, and the lower reaches are in Russia' territory. For salmon trout that migrate back to the river, their stock resources are easily affected by the downstream Russian fishermen, which also brings great challenges to the protection of Fishery Resources in China.
Heilongjiang River Basin Map (known as the Amur River abroad)
Over the past 30 years, the population of salmon (also known as autumn salmon) in China has been drastically decreasing due to the large number of migratory breeding groups, and even some species (such as humpback salmon, Masu salmon) have reached the point of extinction. Some experts pointed out that if effective protection measures are not taken, Heilongjiang will most likely lose the important fish resource of salmon forever.
<h1>The "collective property" of 150,000 fishermen</h1>
The main stream of Heilongjiang is 1887 kilometers long, with a dense water network and extremely rich fishery resources. There is a widespread saying in the local area that "three flowers and five luo eighteen sons, seventy-two miscellaneous fish", these fish are divided into different grades, especially "three flowers and five luo", the highest economic value.
Heilongjiang Fish Market
According to the data, there are 105 species of fish in the Heilongjiang River Basin, of which as many as 92 are indigenous fish, which is one of the areas with the richest fishery resources in China. These unique resources are the "collective property" of Heilongjiang's 150,000 traditional fishermen, and their development history can be traced back to the 1950s, which can be said to feed a batch of Heilongjiang fishermen.
In the local aquatic market, the more common large fish are pike, catfish, sturgeon, gerra, etc., while small and medium-sized fish include fine scaled fish, mandarin fish, Ge's perch pond fish, Mongolian fish and so on. With rare fishing resources, Heilongjiang has even opened up an international market, the most representative of which is sturgeon.
In June 2020, a 300-kilogram wild Dachshund (a national grade II protected animal) was released
Sturgeon is a collective term for the Sturgeon and Dasch and is the largest of all the fish in the region. Sturgeon not only has the advantages of fast growth rate and high market price, but also the caviar made from its fish eggs is called "black gold", which is welcomed by the international market.
At the beginning of this century, heilongjiang's fisheries department began to promote the artificial breeding technology of sturgeon, and since then, sturgeon and its hybrids have been rapidly cultivated in large areas in china. By 2012, the total domestic production of sturgeon had exceeded 50,000 tons, accounting for 85% of the world's total aquaculture. At the same time, many farms in Heilongjiang have also begun to transform, focusing on the production of caviar and exporting it to the European and American markets, and many people have made a lot of money.
Sturgeon caviar
In Heilongjiang, there are many objects that are "focused on" like sturgeon, such as Founder silver carp and huaitou catfish, which have become the "wealth code" of local fishermen. However, not all native fish are so lucky, and the most tragic fate is the salmon.
<h1>The "lost pearl" of Heilongjiang: the disaster of salmon</h1>
Throughout the Northern Hemisphere, wild salmon is found only in the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and China. Salmon is also known as Pacific salmon, and has been hated as a "fake salmon" in China, but this is just a bad business secretly making it bad. Before the "salmon storm" swept the Chinese mainland market, salmon has already made a "meritorious contribution" in the northeast market, and is a highly respected local "elder-level" precious fish.
Salmon (Oncorhynchus keta)
However, the number of salmon that migrate to Spawn in China is decreasing dramatically. Old fishermen with many years of experience have reported that cannabis in Heilongjiang is becoming more and more rare, and can only be seen in the Fuyuan River section at present. The results of the local fisheries bureau also show that salmon has basically disappeared from the Umar River and Sunbiela River in the upper reaches of the Heilongjiang River; even the Rao River and Hulin in the Ussuri River have not appeared for many years.
According to historical data, in 1963, the production of salmon in Heilongjiang had also reached 4501 tons, and the catch in that year was close to 1.29 million; by 1983, the production had dropped sharply to 484 tons, and the catch was only 140,000. From 1985 to 2000, salmon production hovered low, with only 11,000 fish caught in the lowest year.
Cannabis salmon catch in Heilongjiang Province over the years
There are indications that the decline of salmon resources has a lot to do with overfishing, and the most convincing evidence is the change in weight and fertility.
In the 1960s, the average weight of salmon was about 7 pounds, and more than 10 pounds was also common. However, the results of the 2016 survey showed that the average weight of salmon was reduced to about 5 pounds, and the largest individual did not exceed 10 pounds.
At the same time, the number of eggs carried by salmon has also decreased from 4,000 to 3,000 in recent years, and the minimum number of eggs is even only 1,300, indicating that the reproductive capacity of the salmon population is gradually declining.
As we all know, the decline in reproductive capacity is a "harbinger" of a species heading for extinction, and today's salmon has reached a critical moment of life and death.
<h1>Why is the good salmon fishery going "bankrupt"? </h1>
The reason why salmon is in crisis is not only the overfishing of Fishermen in China, but also the destruction of the ecological environment and the obstruction of migratory channels.
In the past, there were many rivers in Heilongjiang Province that could see the "migratory army" of salmon, and some rivers could even accommodate millions of salmon spawning. Since the 1970s, large-scale hydropower dams have been built in the northeast, blocking many migration routes, which has directly led to a decline in the number of young people.
Migratory spawning cannabis broodstock
In addition, water pollution and the destruction of the ecological environment also have an unshirkable responsibility. For the source of pollution, there are three main aspects, the first is that mining wastewater is directly discharged into Heilongjiang; the second is that the use of pesticides and fertilizers is excessive, and with the rainfall, it flows into Heilongjiang along the surface runoff; the third is the industrial wastewater in urban areas and the domestic sewage of residents.
In fact, China and Russia have been monitoring the water quality of heilongjiang for many years, and there is indeed a phenomenon of heavy pollution in some sections of the river. As one of the most fishing-rich rivers in the world, any potential water pollution can have an irreparable impact on local specialty fish species.
There is another important reason for the "bankruptcy" of the salmon fishery in Russia - the overfishing of Russian fishermen.
Russians catch giant salmon
As mentioned earlier, the Heilongjiang River is a famous Sino-Russian boundary river, and its downstream is in Russia. Every autumn, salmon are gradually transferred from the Pacific Ocean to the estuary area, first passing through the lower reaches of the Heilongjiang River (Amur River), when the salmon population is the largest and most vulnerable to overfishing by local fishermen.
Some people believe that Overfishing in Russia is the main reason for the decline of China's salmon resources, and this is not unreasonable. In 2011, as a result of the Japanese nuclear accident, Russia almost stopped commercial fishing for salmon, and it was in this year that the number of salmon migrating to Heilongjiang increased dramatically.
By 2012, the "overzealous" Russia suddenly increased its fishing intensity again – and sure enough, the number of salmon broodstock monitored in the country in the same year fell sharply again. If you overfish downstream, there will be no fish to catch upstream, and that's it.
<h1>The way out for salmon: stocking may not be optimal</h1>
It has to be admitted that including salmon, the fishery resources available for fishing in Heilongjiang are no longer what they used to be, and many species are facing an existential crisis, such as river cod, Zheluo fish, fine scale fish, etc., and even the artificially introduced bluefish have become endangered.
For the decline of fishery resources, the traditional remedy is stocking. In fact, as early as 1956, China established the first breeding and stocking station of salmon in the Ussuri River, followed by the Hunchun Release Station, the Donggang Release Station and the Fuyuan and Dongning Release Stations. After 60 years of breeding and stocking, the wild population of salmon has not recovered significantly, which is also a deeply frustrating fact.
Artificially bred salmon juveniles
In contrast, the simplest and most effective rescue option is to reduce the catch of broodstock downstream. For Russian fishermen, this practice is tantamount to smashing their own "golden rice bowl" – but if only the benefits are seen, the recovery of salmon resources is far away.
In short, only if China and Russia work together to protect this species can we achieve more with less – otherwise, unilateral expulsion may simply be a "postponement" of the death penalty for this species.
What do you think about that? Feel free to leave a message in the comments section to discuss!