Lake fishery struggles to recover from pollution
Print Edition
DONGTING Lake in central China is a quiet place these days. A sign by the lake reads: “No Fertilizer.”
This forms a sharp contrast with summer scenes from 2014 when boats would clutter the lake, carrying fishermen as they fed fertilizer to the fish.
“Sometimes they poured in as much as 100 tons of fertilizer in a single day,” said Xu Haijun, general manager of the Shanpo Lake fishery.
Dongting Lake is China’s second-largest freshwater lake. Fertilizer thrown into the lake over many decades has boosted the growth of highly invasive water hyacinth, as well as polluting the water. “During the worst periods, the water turned dark and smelly,” Xu said.
Since 2014, fisheries near the lake in counties such as Anxiang, Taoyuan and Linli in Hunan Province were ordered to stop feeding the fish fertilizer.
As a result, fishermen began planting water grass and putting algae in the water to feed the fish instead.
Their efforts paid off. Over the past two years, water quality has improved from level five, the worst on a five-tier assessment scale, to level three, which means the water is acceptable for drinking and swimming. But the ban on fertilizer has reduced the fish population. “Fertilizer accelerates the growth of the fish,” said Xu Haijun, “Now we have to let them grow naturally.”
The fish yield before the ban was close to 2 million kilograms per year. Last year the number dropped by half a million kilograms, and revenue fell by more than 6 million yuan (US$900,000).
More than 200 households from the Shanpo Lake fishery saw their annual income decrease to 50,000 yuan last year, 20,000 yuan lower than the previous year, said Xu.
Measures have been taken to make up for the loss. Fish from the lake are now labelled as “organic,” which adds two yuan per kilogram to the price. Shanpo Lake fishery has also planted lotus flowers in the water to attract tourists.
However, some fishermen note that the water quality is not consistent, especially on rainy days when sewage washes into the lake.
“The improvement of water quality is a big project and we need comprehensive remediation,” said Gao Dali, an official with the East Dongting Lake national nature reserve. “We hope that the government can give subsidies and incentives to fishermen, so as to encourage more people to protect the water.”
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