Recovery of the Yangtze River after the fishing ban
The mighty Yangtze River has shown a marked improvement in its ecological health midway through a 10-year fishing moratorium.
The center of a $2.7 billion restoration project, this essential aquatic artery had been severely affected by decades of dam construction, overfishing, fragmentation, pollution and neglect.
A recent study indicates that fish biomass has tripled, the number of the Yangtze finless porpoise has increased, and there has been a disproportionate increase in the number of large and game fish species.
History and challenges of the Yangtze River
GNN reported in 2021 on the fishing moratorium in the Yangtze River. One of China’s three great rivers and the third longest in the world, its estuary in Shanghai is one of the busiest freshwater ports in the world, while its length and abundance is home to 60% of China’s freshwater fisheries employing more than 200,000 people.
Water is a fundamental part of the identity of the Chinese people. Since 4000 BC, society was first organized around water management, and the nation’s founding myth—that the Yellow Emperor tamed the turbulent waters of the Yellow River—is testament to the enduring power of China’s rivers as both economic engines and sacred sites.
Like many other rivers in the world, even the Yangtze could not resist industrialized society. Continued dam construction, sand mining, spills from huge factories along its course, and decades of overfishing gradually eroded its ecological integrity.
A tragedy and an ambitious response
As China’s rise continued into the 21st century, and wealth replaced poverty in much of the country, calls began for greater protection of the Yangtze, although not before the extinction of the Baiji—a freshwater dolphin native to the river that was worshiped as a goddess.
Perhaps this tragedy was the catalyst for an unprecedented restoration program led by an international team of freshwater biologists. The proposal was a 10-year moratorium on fishing along with a huge welfare program to re-employ all fishermen thus deprived of their livelihoods.
110,000 fishing boats were seized with compensation, coastal mining and extractive industries were stopped, and water quality improvements were ordered. The results were concise. Even halfway through the 10-year moratorium, 70 years of degradation seemed to have been reversed.
Impact of the moratorium and future studies
“Seven-decade biodiversity loss was halted with improvements in fish biomass, body condition, species diversity, and initial recovery of threatened species,” the authors of the study that measured the impacts of the legislation wrote in their summary.
“Eliminating fishing pressure was probably key to this recovery, in addition to actions aimed at improving water quality, restoring hydrological and riparian habitat, and reducing boat traffic.”
The study team, which included Chinese and Western biologists, surveyed 57 sections of the river along the Yangtze basin, comparing data from the pre-ban period (2018–2020) with the first years after the ban (2021–2023).
Total fish biomass increased by 209%, rising to 235% for game fish such as bream. The Yangtze finless porpoise also benefited substantially.
The authors in their paper said similar programs could be used to reverse ecological decline along other major rivers such as the Amazon and Mekong.
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