Taizhou releases millions of fish to boost eco restoration

Fishmen release million freshwater fish on June 6. [Photo/tznews.cn]

Taizhou city in Jiangsu province celebrated the ninth National Fish Releasing Day on June 6 by releasing 1.8 million freshwater fish, including grass carp, silver carp, and bream, into the Yingjiang Bridge section of the new Tongyang Canal.

The practice of releasing fish has become a conscious effort among Taizhou citizens, as it contributes to ecological restoration and encourages public participation in preserving the picturesque Yangtze River.

A volunteer fish releasing event is held on May 20. [Photo/tznews.cn]

The 2023 Yangtze River volunteer fish releasing event, held on May 20, attracted nearly 60 individuals, including entrepreneurs from private sectors, ethnic minorities, overseas Chinese, and returning overseas students. They gathered at the Taizhou maritime enforcement terminal on the Taizhou Bridge to release the fish fry. Many participants traveled from other regions specifically for this event, taking advantage of the weekend.

Volunteers learn about fish fry. [Photo/tznews.cn]

"A total of 70,000 pufferfish fry were released during this event, with 11 compassionate individuals paying for the release of nearly 10,000 fry," said Chen Wei, the event organizer. He further explained that all the pufferfish fry released this year were bred in a pufferfish breeding base located in Yonganzhou town. "We bred over 110,000 fry in total, and most of them were donated for this releasing activity."

This volunteer fish releasing event has been held for 11 consecutive years, starting with the release of fry for four major carp species in 2013, and transitioning to include pufferfish fry in 2018. In total, 700,000 fry have been released thus far.