[Smart Farmers] Fish and Birds Travel Together: Ecological Paradise in the "Nine Bends and Eighteen Turns"

The Yellow River is the mother river of the Chinese nation and a precious resource for its survival and development. The Yellow River has nine bends and eighteen turns, creating a series of poetic and picturesque Yellow River landscapes and telling moving historical stories. This mother river with a distinct personality allows us to appreciate the beauty of "the setting sun on the Yellow River" and feel the magnificence of "the water of the Yellow River comes from the sky". The greatness of the Yellow River and its selfless dedication to the Chinese nation are far more than what is sung in novels and lyrics.

Aquatic Biodiversity in the Yellow River Basin

Although the Yellow River basin does not have as many aquatic organisms as the Yangtze River, it has provided more than 130 species of fish, as well as more than 400 species of shrimp, crab, shellfish, algae, aquatic plants and plankton. The famous Qinling salmon, otter, giant salamander, also known as the giant salamander, and other nationally protected wild animals are also distributed in the Yellow River basin.

The biodiversity of the Yellow River is also reflected in the rich variety of wetland types in its basin. If the land area including offshore and coastal wetlands, river wetlands, lake wetlands, swamp wetlands and artificial wetlands is calculated, the total area is 3.9 million hectares, accounting for about 6% of the country's wetland area. The vast wetlands also breed a variety of magical animals. In addition to the above-mentioned fish, shrimp, crabs, shellfish and algae, the most spectacular animal group is water birds. According to statistics, the wetlands in the Yellow River basin have more than 100 species of water birds, which is more than one-third of the total number of water bird species in the country.

Wetlands and Waterbirds

It is understood that a total of 58 aquatic biological and inland wetland nature reserves have been established in the Yellow River Basin, including 18 national nature reserves and 48 national aquatic germplasm resources protection areas.

The Diversity of Fishing Culture in the Yellow River Basin

For more than 3,000 years, China's history has been written with the Henan section of the Yellow River as the center. This period was also the heyday of Chinese civilization. It not only wrote the glorious chapter of the Yellow River culture, but also embodied the vivid, rich, three-dimensional and diverse picture of the Yellow River fishing culture.

The nine provinces in the Yellow River Basin have 20 world cultural heritage sites, 84 national 5A-level tourist attractions, etc. Among these cultural heritages, the beautiful landscape of fishing culture is definitely indispensable.

The human face and fish pattern unearthed from the Banpo site in Xi'an is an artistic reflection of the Banpo people's working life. The Banpo people lived near the river and fished for food. Fish was very important to their lives. Therefore, a large number of fish hooks and harpoons were found in the Banpo site, and many painted pottery also had fish painted on them, showing the early fishing culture of the group living on the banks of the Yellow River. This shows that the Yellow River fishing culture occupies an important position in Chinese fishing culture and is a representative of China's inland fishing culture.

The Yellow River is the basin where Dayu controlled floods, and the story of "the carp leaping over the Dragon Gate" is the earliest, most extensive and most complete story among the legends related to fish. This story is about Dayu dredging the Yellow River flood to the northwest of Hejin County, Shanxi Province. An ancient poem says: "Three waves at the Dragon Gate, a thunderclap on the plain". The Yellow River broke through the mountains and flowed eastward for thousands of miles. The carp in the river could not swim upstream and could only jump over the Dragon Gate with all their strength. To this day, this story is still used to encourage people to work hard and forge ahead.

Among historical relics, the two large fish in the Dunhuang murals are the most delicate in depicting fish. They are mythologized based on carp and crucian carp, with smooth lines, clear scales and bright eyes.

Western Xia-Yulin Cave 003 west wall picture from the Internet

Since ancient times, poems and literature depicting various social activities of the working people, such as farming, hunting, and fishing, have always focused on expressing the harmony between humans and animals. A Ming Dynasty poet wrote "Fishing Village Sunset" to describe the joy of returning from fishing and the setting sun.

The Tang Dynasty novel "Youyang Zazu" records the legendary story of Emperor Suzong of Tang visiting Lingwu during the An-Shi Rebellion, and Nuwa transformed into a human and brought two carps to see Emperor Suzong. The carp culture in the middle reaches of the Yellow River has a long history and profound cultural heritage, and is a unique cultural type with rich cultural connotations. The image of carp is widely presented in New Year paintings, embroidery, sculptures and other works. The auspicious meaning of carp is also the main reason why people like it. Therefore, carp has always occupied an important position in banquets during festivals.

After thousands of years of sedimentation and nourishment, the Yellow River Basin is rich in aquatic resources. Eating fish is one of the most prominent cultural forms of the Yellow River fishing culture. Residents of the Yellow River Basin have always liked to eat fish and have unique cooking techniques for various types of fish. The favorite way to eat fish in the Tang Dynasty was to cut the fish into thin strips. In the Song Dynasty, the popular river dishes were even more abundant.

Yellow River carp pictures from the Internet

The protection of aquatic biodiversity in the Yellow River is urgent

The Yellow River Basin is one of the most ecologically fragile basins in my country with the largest distribution area, the most vulnerable ecological types, and the most obvious ecological vulnerability. The level of biodiversity in the Yellow River Basin is an important indicator of the health of the basin ecosystem. Affected by many factors such as water resource endowment conditions and human activities, the level of biodiversity in the Yellow River Basin is under great threat.

Impact of Yellow River water pollution on biodiversity. Some main and tributary rivers in the Yellow River basin are seriously polluted. The construction and operation of water-related projects have had an impact on aquatic biological resources and their habitats. The amount of aquatic biological resources in the Yellow River has decreased, and fish species such as northern copper fish, Yellow River yarrow fish, and Lanzhou catfish have decreased and their habitats have shrunk. The protection of endangered species is a prominent issue, and the adverse effects of alien invasive species have increased significantly.

The threat of ecological space crowding out to biodiversity. Excessive human interference and control have exacerbated the trend of ecological space coercion and functional atrophy. The natural ecological protection of rivers and lakes in the basin and the ecological and environmental functions of corridors are facing complex impacts and system imbalances. The ecological functions of rivers and lakes are damaged, and biodiversity is decreasing rapidly. In particular, the fish habitats in river sections where hydropower resources are concentrated have changed significantly, and the resources of native fish species have seriously declined. In the past three decades, the number of fish species in the Yellow River has decreased by about half, and the resources of native and endangered fish have decreased by more than 60%.

What have we done to protect our mother river?

In recent years, in order to improve the level of biodiversity protection in the Yellow River Basin, relevant departments have taken various protection measures, including conducting surveys on the water ecological environment and aquatic biodiversity of the Yellow River and building an observation network to assess the threat status of aquatic organisms in the Yellow River; strengthening the protection of habitats for rare, endangered and indigenous fish, and repairing habitats damaged during the construction of water-related projects; systematically carrying out measures such as alternative habitat protection, fish shelter construction, connectivity ecological restoration, and ecological shoreline protection. Protect fish resources and the habitats of the "three fields and one channel". Strengthen the protection of natural species such as native fish in the Yellow River Basin and the diversity of biological communities, etc.

In 2021, when the pandemic was raging, there were reports that an adult Yellow River sturgeon was found in the coastal waters of the Yellow River estuary. This was the first time the Yellow River sturgeon had been found since the late 1990s. This news not only made the scientific and technological workers who worked hard to restore the ecosystem very happy, but also made all those who love and care for nature extremely excited, and boosted confidence and motivation for the protection of the biodiversity of the Yellow River.

The picture of Yellow River catfish comes from the 1955 Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea fish survey report by Zhang Chunlin

After the promulgation of the "14th Five-Year Plan for Water Ecological Environment Protection in the Yellow River Basin", new requirements for biodiversity protection were put forward. It is necessary to restore the integrity of aquatic organisms, restore the water body list of native fish or native aquatic plants in key rivers and main tributaries, repair and protect the "three fields and one road", and promote the continuous improvement of water environment quality and the initial recovery of the functions of the water ecosystem.

Our mother river, the Yellow River, is an important symbol of Chinese civilization and an important ecological barrier in my country. Ecological protection of the Yellow River Basin, especially wetland and biodiversity protection, plays a very important role in the construction of ecological civilization in my country. For us, the health of the mother river is the well-being of the Chinese nation. I hope that everyone will work together to realize the goal of water ecological environment protection of "river, water, fish, grass, people and water in harmony" as soon as possible.

Author: Liu Yadan (National Chief Science Communication Expert, former Assistant Secretary-General of the Chinese Society of Fisheries, Assistant Secretary-General of the China Rural Professional and Technical Association)

Audit expert: Dai Guoqing (Secretary-General of China Algae Industry Association)

Editor: Wu Yuetong

Proofreader: Yuan Dian (internship)