Ten-year fishing ban improves biodiversity in Yangtze River

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The aquatic biological resources in the Yangtze River have shown a positive recovery trend since a fishing ban was implemented in the river, according to a communique released on Monday by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the Ministry of Transport.

The Yangtze River flows through southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. /CFP

The communique indicates that in 2023, resource density in the main stream increased by 16.7 percent year-on-year, while resource volume in major tributaries rose by 64.3 percent. Additionally, the population of China's four major carps – black carp, grass carp, silver carp and bighead carp – in the central Yangtze at Jianli City, Hubei Province, reached 5.98 billion, 4.4 times the amount before the ban.

While the aquatic resources have continued to recover, the biodiversity of aquatic beings has also seen improvements, and the habitat conditions of the creatures have been generally stable.

In 2023, the river basin recorded 227 native fish species, an increase of 34 from 2022. The number of aquatic wild species under state key protection rose to 14, up by 3, according to the communique.

In 2021, to improve the biodiversity in the river, the country launched a 10-year fishing ban in pivotal waters of the Yangtze River.