Professor Yao Weizhi from the College of Fisheries, Southwest University, led a team to conduct aquatic biomonitoring on the Jialing River. It is the first aquatic biomonitoring conducted by Chongqing after the implementation of the 10-year fishing ban on Asia's longest river.

Southwest University led a team to conduct aquatic biomonitoring on the Jialing River. （Photo provided to iChongqing)

The project aimed to understand the changes in aquatic resources along the Yangtze River in Chongqing and scientifically evaluate the effect of the complete 10-year fishing ban and the index of biotic integrity.

In 2022, Yangtze River Aquatic Biomonitoring Chongqing Station began to monitor aquatic biological resources and important ecological environments in the Yangtze River basin. Research institutes of the city have planned to conduct relevant monitoring on the Yangtze River, Jialing River, and Wujiang River to know the status quo of aquatic biodiversity, resources, and environment, master relevant change tendency, and evaluate the effect of the 10-year fishing ban and the index of biotic integrity. As one of such institutes, the College of Fisheries, Southwest University is responsible for the aquatic biomonitoring on the Jialing River.

Researchers collected multi mesh gillnets and ground cages put into the river before at the Baimiaozi Section of Jialing River in Beibei District. They hoped to get some basic data on the catches, such as the body length, weight, and species. "We will free most of the catches after finishing observation. For a small number of fishes that should be kept as specimens, we will bring them back to the laboratory for analysis on ages, eating habits, development degrees, and growth status," said  Yao.

Researchers collected multi mesh gillnets at the Baimiaozi Section of Jialing River. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

Yao noted, "Results show that the fishing ban has been effective. The number of catches and species rises significantly, and some rare and endemic species appear more frequently." Procypris rabaudi or rock carp is a typical case. This second-class national-protected animal was found twice during the monitoring, and all of them are fertile.

"Chongqing is scheduled to focus on aquatic biomonitoring and survey this year. This time, we carried out the project during the breeding season, and in September, we will launch growing season monitoring," introduced Deng Xing, a person in charge of the Comprehensive Agricultural Administrative Law Division of Beibei District. Next, Beibei will scientifically evaluate the changes in resources in the Jialing River, based on monitoring results, in a bid to offer scientific support to the protection and systematical restoration of the ecological environment along the Yangtze River.