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| Shanghai:Crackdown at river mouth nets illegal eel-fishing boats |
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By: Dong Zhen
Feb 18,2008 |
ILLEGAL eel-fishing vessels were ordered off the water, and nets and other fishing equipment confiscated under a crackdown yesterday to stop eel-fishing craft endangering shipping traffic around Donghai Bridge.
Maritime and fishing authorities yesterday began sweeping action to clear shipping channels of the eel-fishing boats around the Donghai Bridge, near Yangshan Deep-Water Port at the mouth of the Yangtze.
A dozen eel-fishing boats were ordered to move on while more than 40 fishing nets and other equipment were removed by officers, Yangshan port maritime officials said.
The rush for catching baby eels at the mouth of the Yangtze River has lasted for many years.
From early January to late March every year, baby eels begin to grow after spawning near the mouth of the Yangtze.
Thousands of fishermen are always drawn to the catch.
The morays are netted and sold to fish farms in Fujian and Guangdong provinces, where the eels are grown to maturity.
Once called "soft gold" for the high prices they demand, mature eels are often sold to Japan and Europe for cooking the tasty "roasted eels" dish.
But shipping traffic has become far busier on local waters near the mouth of the Yangtze, and there are now 19 passenger ships regularly ferrying people between the downtown area, local islands and ports, and Zhejiang Province.
Officials said the submerged fishing nets could easily snarl propellers of passing vessels and have become a threat to water safety in the Yangshan port area.
"We've discovered that the rampant operation of eel boats and their fishing nets is particularly threatening the safety of ships passing arches of the Donghai Bridge," said Yangshan port maritime officer Zhang Chunhua.
Officials said more sudden sweeps are expected to be carried out against the baby-eel rush.
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