China Launches Fishery Resources Survey in the Yellow River

China recently launched a fishery resources survey along the Yellow River, the country's second longest. This is the first survey of inland waters since the 1980s, according to officials of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea Fishery Bureau under the Ministry of Agriculture in the coastal city of Yantai in eastern Shandong Province.

The fishery researchers seek to understand the changes that have been taking place over the past 30 years in the habitat and assess existing fish species and their current living situations. According to data from the 1980s, 191 fish species lived in the Yellow River valley. Species of fish in the river, however, have declined over the past three decades because of dam building and water diversion projects, not to mention unhealthy aquaculture activities. The researchers will also inspect alien fish species reported in the river. The survey is expected to be finished within the year.