The Paper's senior reporter Li Jing
The scene of the trial Photo of this article courtesy of the Shanghai Railway Transport Procuratorate
On the wet and soft mudflats, mudskippers (commonly known as jumping fish) have changed the aquatic normality of fish, almost crawling and bouncing like crazy. As typical creatures that crawl from the ocean to land, they have strong muscles, however, they do not "jump" out of the round-up of outlaws.
Mudskipper (commonly known as jumping fish).
On June 2, the surging news reporter learned from the Shanghai Railway Transport Procuratorate that recently, the criminal incidental civil public interest lawsuit of Xue Moumou's illegal fishing of aquatic products initiated by the court was tried at the Chongming District People's Court.
According to the Shanghai Railway Transport Procuratorate, from April 23, 2020 to July 24 of the same year and from September 5, 2020 to October 21 of the same year, defendant Xue Moumou organized fishermen to illegally catch a total of 38,182 kilograms of mudskippers and other aquatic products by catching fish with their bare hands on the beach along the Yangtze River in beibao Port, Chongming District, a prohibited fishing area, causing direct economic losses to national fishery resources totaling more than 3.097 million yuan.
Mudskippers seized at fishermen's homes
After review, defendant Xue X violated the laws and regulations on the protection of aquatic resources and organized others to illegally fish for aquatic products in the fishing ban area of the key waters of the Yangtze River, the circumstances were serious, and his behavior has constituted the crime of illegal fishing for aquatic products, which should be punished according to law. In view of the fact that defendant Xue X was confessing, he voluntarily admitted guilt and accepted punishment, and was given a lenient treatment in accordance with law. Defendant Xue X illegally fished and sold 38,182 kilograms of aquatic products for profit, and his behavior not only caused the loss of national fishery resources, but also damaged the ecological environment and harmed the public interest, and should bear civil liability for damaging the ecological environment according to law.
The court made a first-instance judgment in court and sentenced defendant Xue XX to two years' imprisonment for the crime of illegal fishing of aquatic products; defendant Xue XX compensated more than 3.097 million yuan for the direct economic losses of national fishery resources caused by illegal fishing of aquatic products, and publicly apologized to the public.
Fishing gear involved
According to the procuratorial organs, this case occurred in the waters of the Yangtze River Estuary Area of the Yangtze River Lynx National Aquatic Germplasm Resources Conservation Area of the Yangtze River Knife Fish, which is a fishing ban area and a key water area of the Yangtze River. The case involved in this case is a large mudskipper (species name), which has important ecological value, and overfishing will cause its population density to decline or become endangered. At the same time, the number of fish, snakes, shrimps and crabs that feed on large mudskippers will also decrease, resulting in a decline in the overall species abundance. At the same time, Chongming is one of the important habitats on the migration route of migratory birds, and the mudskipper is one of the food sources of tidal flat water birds, which will cause the loss of local migratory bird resources, resulting in a chain reaction in ecology, scientific research, aquaculture, tourism and other industries, causing serious consequences for ecology and economy.
Editor-in-Charge: Xu Xiaoyang