Gao, the third generation ofhis fishing family sighs on his boat.
Liuxi River, rising from Conghua city in the north part of Guangzhou, runs through this southern metropolis raising Guangzhou people one generation after another. Witness to the historical Guangzhou, this river is now facing a period of recession, as more and more young people trickle into the big cities instead of taking up their fathers' business.
Experts predict that individual fishing will disappear from Guangzhou's history within 30 years as this situation worsens resulting in fewer fishermen and poorer fishing resources.
There are over 30 families in the Yumin Village in Guangzhou's Huadu District all of whom fish for a living. "Both my grandpa and my father were fishermen," said 65-year-old Gao as he searches his memory, "I am the third generation of this fishing family."
There are over 30 families in the Yumin Village in Guangzhou's Huadu District all of whom fish for a living.
The young don't want to follow steps of the old
Gao has two sons, and neither of these two young men want to follow in their father's footsteps. Earning bread from fishing is an unstable job, living at the mercy of the forces of nature. Apart from the boring maintenance of fishing nets and the boat, the fact that few girls are willing to marry fishermen is one of the key reasons that bothers these young generations.
The boring maintenance of fishing nets and the boat is one of thereasons that bothers these young generations.
Polluted valley worsens the poor fishing resources
Today, after working for 6 hours on the river, Liang's efforts yielded only about 2 kilograms of fish. "Great pain and little gain. The situation is worse recently," sighed Liang, as he complained that fishermen now had to go 10 kilometers further up the river to ease the living burden.
This all resulted from a pollution accident, when in September 2008, illegal discharges of fouling chemicals from a company led to large scale death of fish in the Liuxi River. A crossing section of the river between the city's Baiyun and Huadu Districts was so dramatically polluted that according to a research team from the South China Normal University, a period of up to ten years may be needed for natural restoration in that area.
After working for 6 hours on the river, Liang's efforts yielded only about 2 kilograms of fish.
Fish fed naturally are cheaper than those fed by artificial feedstuff
What bothers the fishermen is the fact that their naturally-fed fish achieve a lower price than those fed by normal feedstuff in the market, even though their fish taste better.
Huang Jinghua, engineer from the Protection Center for Aquatic Wildlife in Huadu, stated that natural fish are more dependent on the running water and would die more quickly after being removed from the river; fishermen have to depreciate their sweat of labour in order to sell them in a shorter time.
Huang said fishing resources in the Liuxi River are decreasing. The fishermen in this Yumin Village are all over 50 years old and may be the last fishermen of Guangzhou in 30 years if nothing is done.
The fact that more hatchlings will be released into the river this year in an effort to refresh the environment - according to the Huadu Fishery Administration - could just possibly become a good ending to this story.
Experts predict that within 30 years individual fishing will be removed from Guangzhou history as this situation worsens resulting in less fishermen and poorer fishing resources.
