In the early morning of early autumn, by the Yangtze River on Pier Road, Luohan Street, Longmatan District, 54-year-old Wang Longgui parked his motorcycle at the embankment corner and walked towards the reed swamp with his record book. There are shoals, bays, rock crevices, and abandoned buoys everywhere - this 10-kilometer river section, he has to go back and forth two or three times a day to see if there are any dark nets, ground traps, and illegal poles.
Luzhou is an important ecological barrier in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the last pass out of the Sichuan River. The Yangtze River, Tuojiang River and Chishui River meet here. The Luzhou section of the Yangtze River is 136 kilometers long, accounting for about 61% of the Sichuan River section. 80% of the Yangtze River water flows out of the Sichuan River in Luzhou. Protecting a river of clear water is a heavy responsibility.
The picture shows Wang Longgui patrolling along the river bank. Photo courtesy of Luzhou Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department
A city guards the mouth of the river, and a group of people guard a section of the river. Wang Longgui came from a fishing family. He joined his father on a boat at the age of 9 and has been working on the river for more than 30 years. "In the early years, there were catfish, grass carp, and crucian carp caught in one net. Later, there were fewer and fewer big fish." In 2021, the "ten-year fishing ban" in the Yangtze River was launched. He did not leave the river after handing the boat ashore. The district hired him as a public welfare fisherman, "changing his identity and continuing to deal with the Yangtze River." He changed from a "fisherman" to a "fisher protector."
He has rich experience: with a bottle floating on the river that does not follow the waves, or a looming piece of string, he can often tell whether a ground cage is hung underneath, and even estimate how long it will last. Wang Longgui said proudly that one time he noticed an inconspicuous plastic bottle on the river surface. Its location had not changed for several days. Based on experience, he judged that it was a fishing gear mark set by someone. He pulled it out of the cage and released the fry on the spot, confiscated the fishing gear and reported it.
Wang Longgui's change in identity is a microcosm of the ecological changes in the Yangtze River. After six years of perseverance, there is finally a response. Wang Longgui pointed to the river: "When patrolling, I often see groups of fish swimming by, and sometimes I can hear the 'pop' sound of fish jumping out of the water. That sound makes me happy."
The picture shows Wang Longgui patrolling along the river bank. Photo courtesy of Luzhou Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department
Yu Zongguo, deputy director of the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau of Longmatan District, Luzhou City, said that a total of 25 people like Wang Longgui, who were retired fishermen turned fishermen, have been resettled in Longmatan District, relying on their experience to protect the ecology of the Yangtze River. Local dynamics track the employment, training and social security of fishermen who have retired from fishing, covering job placement, training for those who are willing, and the payment of social security subsidies, so that fishermen can retire, live stably, and develop.
Fishing bans are just one part of the equation. Luzhou has set up an environmental committee with the municipal party committee secretary and the mayor as "double directors". The municipal party committee secretary is also the chief river chief and the Yangtze River municipal river chief. 16 municipal leaders are divided into responsibilities. It conducts cross-border risk investigation and joint drills with Yongchuan and Jiangjin in Chongqing and Zunyi in Guizhou, linking "water strikes, land management, and market inspections" to resolutely protect the eastward flow of clear water.
Schools of fish are the most direct feedback. Since 2021, Luzhou has received more than 8 million yuan in central subsidies and released more than 12 million Yangtze sturgeons, mullet fish, and rock carp. In 2024, more than 100 species of fish were monitored in the Luzhou area of the Rare and Endemic Fish National Nature Reserve in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, including 91 indigenous species, 8 more than in 2021. The frequency of Yangtze River sturgeon and mullet fish has increased significantly. Wang Longgui said that nowadays, when patrolling the river, we often encounter schools of fish tailing, and the "banzi" (fish spawning) season in the shallows is the busiest. He said with a smile: "Listening to the sound of the water, I feel more at ease than when the cabin was full."
From "relying on the water" to "protecting the water and revitalizing the water", Luzhou has tied the ban on fishing to ensure people's safety and green development: 1,043 square kilometers of ecological protection zones have been designated, cleaner production has been promoted in the liquor and chemical industries, 122 shale gas platforms, 293 MW of distributed photovoltaics, and 147.5 MW of wind power; more than 430,000 people have registered for the "Green Bud Points" carbon inclusive program, and saving points, reducing carbon, and planting trees have become a daily routine for citizens.
When the Yangtze River goes east, it does not choose small streams. Luzhou used a ten-year ban on fishing to return fish, used systematic pollution control to return water, and used cross-border cooperation to guard the border, allowing the "fish flying shallow bottom" to return to the river surface, and also allowing a pool of clear water from Sichuan to continue to flow eastward. (over)
