Chinese experts have found a way to improve the quality of water in one scenic lake by raising fish and clams to feed on blue algae.
Last year as blue algae spread rapidly in Yuehu Lake near Ningbo, a coastal city in east China's Zhejiang Province, the local environment protection administration drew on the experience of other countries and introduced tens of thousands of chubs, java tilapias and clams into the lake.
The lake, once filled with stinking water, now maintains a minimum water transparency of 58 centimeters, environment monitoring officials say.
Blue algae and red tides are described by scientists as the ecological cancers for water. Blue algae, which reproduce rapidly during hot weather in water containing too many nutrients, may cause severe water pollution.
Researches have found that java tilapia, chub and bighead carp all have good appetites for blue algae. These could also be introduced into other algae-infested freshwater lakes in China, including Lake Taihu, experts say.
(Xinhua News Agency March 23, 2002)
