What is responsible release?

Wang Xuejie, Gu Dangen, Chinese Society of Fisheries, Expert Team on Scientific Communication of Alien Aquatic Organism Control, Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences

The original meaning of releasing animals into the wild is to release wild animals back into the wild. It mainly refers to two behaviors: one is that hunters release captured wild animals, and the other is to buy wild animals caught by others and release them for the purpose of showing kindness or accumulating good karma. Later, the meaning of releasing animals into the wild evolved and expanded to refer to all behaviors of releasing living animals into the wild or semi-wild environment out of kindness. The animals released into the wild are not necessarily wild animals, but more often artificially bred animals. Abandoning pets and ornamental fish that have fallen out of favor due to changes in interests and letting them fend for themselves cannot be called releasing animals into the wild.

Releasing animals is a kind act, which is meant to cherish life, protect wild animals and the natural ecology. However, inappropriate release may not only produce results contrary to the original intention, but also cause harm to the ecological environment of the water body, and even risk violating laws and regulations. Releasing animals cannot be done arbitrarily. The person releasing animals must be responsible for the animals released, for himself, and for the natural ecology.

1. Being responsible for released animals <br /> Being responsible for released animals means releasing animals at the appropriate place, season and time that are in the appropriate growth stage, in good health and capable of surviving in the wild (so pets, poultry, livestock and other animals are not suitable as released species) to ensure a high survival rate and avoid releasing animals into "killing".

Figure 1. In December 2021, someone privately released 25,000 kilograms of catfish into Changdang Lake in Changzhou, resulting in a large number of deaths. It took the local fishery department 10 days to complete the salvage (Picture from the Internet)

2. Be responsible for yourself <br /> Being responsible for yourself means being responsible for your conscience and complying with the requirements of laws and regulations. If you release animals out of kindness, you must hope that your behavior is a real act of kindness, a real act of cherishing life and protecting the natural ecology, rather than a superficial act for others to see. If a Buddhist is just pretending to do something and casually buys some animals and releases them, and most of these animals don't survive, or the animals you release prey on and harm the original native creatures, how can such behavior deceive the gods and Buddhas, and how can it have any merit? How can you have a good conscience?

To be responsible for yourself and avoid violating the law due to improper release, you should first have a basic understanding of the relevant laws. my country's "Biosafety Law" stipulates that "Article 60... No unit or individual may introduce, release or discard alien species without approval." "Article 81... If anyone violates the provisions of this law and releases or discards alien species without approval, the relevant departments of the people's government at or above the county level shall, according to the division of responsibilities, order the capture and recovery of the released or discarded alien species within a time limit and impose a fine of not less than RMB 10,000 and not more than RMB 50,000." The "Measures for the Management of Alien Invasive Species" (jointly issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and other four departments in 2022) stipulates that "Article 9... No unit or individual may introduce, release or discard alien species without approval." "Article 25 Anyone who violates the provisions of these Measures and releases or discards alien species without approval shall be punished in accordance with Article 81 of the "Biosafety Law of the People's Republic of China". If suspected of committing a crime, he shall be transferred to the judicial authorities for criminal responsibility in accordance with the law."

Figure 2. In September 2022, a man in Baise, Guangxi, was fined 28,000 yuan for putting a scavenger into a reservoir;

Figure 3. A citizen in Changzhou was sentenced to legal punishment for releasing a catfish in February 2023 (Photo from the Internet)

3. Responsible for the natural ecology <br /> Responsible for the natural ecology means that releasing animals into the wild must not harm the natural ecosystem, must not destroy the biodiversity of the original natural ecosystem, must not affect the reproduction of the original species in the ecosystem, and must not destroy the original ecological balance. What are the behaviors that are conducive to the protection of the natural ecosystem? Protecting the natural ecology involves many aspects, such as vegetation protection, habitat protection, species diversity protection, prevention and elimination of environmental pollution, prevention and control of alien species invasion, tracking and control of climate change, geomorphology, hydrology, etc. As far as releasing animals into the wild is concerned, the most important aspect is not to release alien species and not to promote the invasion of alien species.

What are alien species? The scientific definition of alien species is: "Alien species refer to species, subspecies or lower taxa that appear outside their past or present natural distribution range and diffusion potential (i.e., they cannot be distributed without direct or indirect introduction or human care), including all parts, gametes or reproductive bodies that may survive and then reproduce." Simply put, as long as the species is not originally distributed in a certain place and later enters this place, then for this place, this species is an alien species. Therefore, in terms of the distance crossed, different alien species also vary greatly. Some come from neighboring areas, some come from other non-adjacent areas in the country, some come from neighboring countries, and some come from other continents. For ordinary people, it is not an easy task to accurately judge whether a species is an alien species, but there is also a most basic judgment standard that ordinary people can grasp. If the original distribution is in a foreign country, it is definitely an alien species for my country. The "Regulations on the Management of Alien Invasive Species" points out that "Article 2 The alien species referred to in these Regulations refer to species that have no natural distribution in the territory of the People's Republic of China and are introduced through natural or artificial means, including all parts of the species that may survive and reproduce."

Figure 4: Red-eared painted sliders, an exotic species, are often bought and released into the wild by uninformed people because of their low price.

Species that originate in foreign countries should definitely not be released. If we want to do a better job of releasing species, and truly benefit the protection of natural ecology, biodiversity, and biological resources, and benefit future generations, then we should not choose species that originate in foreign countries, nor should we choose non-native species that were originally distributed in other parts of the country. We should only release local indigenous species. Non-professionals cannot judge which species are indigenous, so they can consult and seek help from the fishery management department.

Figure 5. The Chinese bream is native to the lakes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It is an alien species in other waters such as the Yellow River and the Pearl River and is not suitable for release (Photo credit: Shen Yuxi)

IV. How to release animals scientifically and in a standardized manner <br /> In recent decades, the objects released by the Chinese people are mainly aquatic animals, accounting for more than 90% of the number of released animals, among which fish and reptiles (turtles and turtles) are the main ones. In 2009, the Ministry of Agriculture issued a decree on the implementation of the "Regulations on the Management of Aquatic Biological Propagation and Release", which stipulates that "the activities of aquatic biological propagation and release in the waters under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China shall comply with these regulations." Releasing animals is not exactly the same as the propagation and release of aquatic animals, but in terms of species selection, as long as the object of release is aquatic animals, it should be implemented as a reference to ensure that the release behavior is indeed beneficial to the protection of aquatic biological resources and the protection of local water ecology.

Figure 6. In 2009, the former Ministry of Agriculture promulgated the "Regulations on the Management of Aquatic Biological Propagation and Release" (Order No. 20 of the Ministry of Agriculture), which clarified the management requirements for social units and individuals to carry out propagation and release activities. In terms of the selection of released (released) species, in order to guide the public to release (release) aquatic organisms scientifically, the "Guiding Opinions on Doing a Good Job in the Propagation and Release of Aquatic Organisms in the 14th Five-Year Plan" issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs clearly listed the "List of Common Alien Species, Hybrids and Breeding Species of Aquatic Organisms" that are strictly prohibited from release. The "Aquatic Species Not Suitable for Propagation and Release (Release)" issued by the Chinese Society of Fisheries' Scientific Fish Release Expert Team. In terms of release (release) locations and seed sources, in order to standardize social release (release) activities, guide the public to purchase aquatic biological seed from compliant sources and release (release) them at designated locations, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs recently announced the first batch of aquatic biological propagation and release seed supply bases and designated release (release) sites for the public.

Figure 7. Aquatic biological fixed-point release platform in Songxi River, Songxi County, Fujian Province

The public can log in to the National Fisheries Technology Extension Center's "Smart Fishing Technology" comprehensive information service platform (https://znyj.nftec.agri.cn/homepage/index), and under the "Data Query" section on the homepage, click "Aquatic Species Not Suitable for Proliferation and Release (Release)" to see which species are not suitable for release. Click on the release guide to see specific suggestions on releasing activities. Click on "Aquatic Biological Fixed-point Release Platform Query" and "Aquatic Biological Proliferation and Release Seedling Supply Unit Information Database" to query the published aquatic biological fixed-point release sites and aquatic biological propagation and release seedling supply bases and aquatic biological fixed-point release sites.

Figure 8. “Smart Fishing Technology” comprehensive information service platform website

It is recommended that you check and confirm whether the species you plan to release are species that can be released before implementing the release. If they are species that can be released, you can choose appropriate waters for release after filing with the fishery authorities, or you can hand them over to professional rescue and temporary care institutions; if they are species that are not suitable for release, it is recommended to stop releasing them. If you have purchased aquatic animals that you plan to release, you can hand them over to professional rescue and temporary care institutions or dispose of them harmlessly by yourself, and do not release them into public waters.