A new life ashore

Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, the fishing village of Luoshan, Honghu city, Hubei province is continually enveloped in cloud and rain.

The clatter and clang of cranes, excavators and cutting tools goes on all day. Fisherman Xia Mingxing looks on as his long steel-hulled fishing boat is being dismantled, a sight which still brings tears to the eye of the 57-year-old who is reluctant to leave after spending a lifetime on the water on the boat that long afforded him a livelihood.

The fisherman's port is located in the Yangtze River Dolphin National Nature Reserve in the Xinluo section of the Yangtze River. China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs recently released a relocation plan, Notice on the Scope and Time of Fishing in Key Waters of the Yangtze River, which will see around 110,000 fishing boats and 280,000 fishermen gradually bid farewell to their "lives afloat" and retreat to shore and start a new life.

There are 56 professional fishermen in the fishing village. All of them have now retired and their fishing boats have been dismantled. Zhou Liang, the head of the village committee says that most of the villagers under the age of 45 have left to seek work in nearby factories. Fishermen like Xia are mostly working doing odd jobs.

His fellow fisherman Xu Baoan from the same village retired and returned to land in 2017, and now works with his wife not far from home."I work on my doorstep and I can take care of the children and the elderly. We still make more than 8,000 yuan ($1,152) a month, which I'm satisfied with," Xu says. "In the beginning, there will be adjustments, but the ban is to protect the Yangtze River's ecology. For the sake of future generations, we have to be brave and take this first step. As long as you are not averse to work, life on the shore will be better."

"The fishing boats in the village were dismantled for recycling at the beginning of last year. After the fishing ban, there has been significantly more larger fish seen in the river. We withdrew to let the Yangtze River take a rest for the benefit of future generations. The government has also helped the fishermen to switch to production and industry jobs to protect us in our retirement. It kills two birds with one stone," says Lu Jiaren, a retired fisherman from Baishuigang village, Zhicheng town, Yidu city, Hubei province.

Only by providing new livelihoods onshore will it be possible to ensure that the fishermen can live stable, prosperous lives and guarantee that they will not return to the rivers and lakes.