05/07/2005 – Following
the opening of a dyke in Hubei Province's
Zhangdu in mid-June, another dyke in Anhui
Province’s Baidang Lake has been opened as
part of a WWF-HSBC freshwater initiative to
restore the ‘web of life’ along the Yangtze
River.
Depleted by intensive crab farming, as well
as the unnatural disruption between the region’s
lakes and the river, Baidang Lake has shrunk
from 100sq km in the 1950s to its current
size of 40sq km. Natural fisheries production
in the region has also declined sharply.
The opening of Baidang Lake’s dyke – the
result of a joint effort between WWF and the
Yangtze Fishery Administrative Committee –
will help the migratory flow of fish, allowing
them to breed upstream into the Yangtze, and
for young fish fry to return to the lake where
they can grow to maturity.
WWF experts believe the move will increase
fish populations, allowing local fisheries
to increase yields by five per cent within
the next three years.
"We are trying to promote well-managed
wetlands around the Anqing lake area, as well
as across the whole river basin for the benefit
of people and nature,” said Wang Limin, WWF-HSBC
Yangtze’s programme manager.
Since 2002, the WWF-HSBC initiative has concentrated
on three sites in Hubei Province: Zhangdu
Lake, Hong Lake and Tian’e-Zhou Oxobw.
The re-linkage of isolated lakes and introduction
of fish fry is one element of the WWF-HSBC
initiative. The overall goals are to restore
wetland habitats for displaced migratory and
endemic birds and fish such as tundra swans
and ice fish, as well as reduce water pollution
and establish key protected areas for the
region’s most endangered species.
In addition to opening the sluice gate in
Baidang Lake, the WWF-HSBC initiative is monitoring
fish fry, and offering technical support on
eco-fisheries as part of the overall effort
to conserve the Yangtze’s natural resources.
END NOTES:
• In 2002, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking
Corporation (HSCB) Group established the five-year
"Investing in Nature Programme"
which suppors a range of conservation initiatives
around the world. The WWF-HSBC Yangtze Programme
is one of these initiatives.
• Yangtze Fishery Administrative Committee
(YFAC) is responsible for Yangtze aquatic
wildlife, implementing related regulations,
monitoring and evaluating fishery resources,
and aquatic reserve establishment. In 2004,
YFAC attended the opening of the Tian’e Zhou
Oxbow sluice gate, the first of WWF’s three
demonstration sites to open their dykes, and
has since cooperated with WWF to devise a
plan to re-introduce young fish to Baidang
Lake from the Yangtze River as well as other
ecologically-friendly fish practices.
