The Seventh China Fishing Festival opened on Tuesday in Xiangshan County, near the city of Ningbo in Zhejiang Province. This year's theme is, "Treat the ocean well and it will treat us well."
Local fishermen are celebrating the start of a new fishing season after a three-month suspension on the East China Sea. The festival is held each year to promote the fishing culture of the region and protection of the marine environment.
In 1995, fisheries administrations suspended fishing during summer months on the East China, Yellow, and Bohai Seas in order to protect marine resources. In 1999, the protected area expanded to include the South China Sea.
This year's festival opened on Tuesday with a traditional sacrificial ceremony -- but one that also had a modern touch.
Xiangshan is home to the largest number of private sea fishing boats in China. Traditionally, the locals held a sacrificial rite for the sea at the beginning of each fishing season to show their appreciation for its bounty and to pray for safety and a good harvest.
This year, 120 fishermen dressed in ancient costumes carried a big bowl of wine to the beach, followed by a dozen people carrying three jars of jujubes, walnuts and peanuts. They bowed to the sea and poured the wine and food into the water.
Then five children put sea turtles, yellow croaker fry and other fish into the sea, symbolizing the protection of ocean ecology and sustainable fisheries development.
In 2000, fisherman Lin Yongfa and 20 of his colleagues in Xiangshan launched the Blue Guards Volunteer Movement. The first non-governmental organization of its kind, the Blue Guards promote the concept of "give in order to take."
They have visited the coastal provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Shandong and Liaoning, as well as the four major fishing zones of the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China Seas, to encourage support of an participation in their cause.
"In the past, we just took what we wanted from the sea without protecting it. We thought the sea had unlimited resources. But in recent years the pollution from our fishing boats and overfishing have not only greatly destroyed marine resources, but also affected our businesses," said Lin. "Now we realize that the sea is the mother of fishermen and before we take from her, we must give to her."
(China Daily September 15, 2004)
