Conservation zone of aquatic germplasm refers to the waters, beaches, adjacent islands, reefs and land areas that are demarcated and specially protected and managed according to law in the main growth and breeding areas of aquatic germplasm resources with high economic value and genetic breeding value in order to protect aquatic germplasm resources and their living environment.
In recent years, in view of the grim situation that human activities such as engineering construction occupy and destroy important aquatic habitats and traditional fishery waters, which seriously affects the sustainable development of fisheries and the construction of national ecological civilization, China has vigorously organized and implemented measures to protect aquatic biological resources, such as proliferation and release, fishing suspension and fishing ban. At the same time, according to the provisions of the Fisheries Law and other laws and regulations and the requirements of the State Council's China Aquatic Biological Resources Protection Action Plan, the establishment of conservation zone for aquatic germplasm has been actively promoted since 2007, and has been approved and published so far.
These protected areas can protect hundreds of national key protected fishery resources and their key habitats, such as spawning grounds, feeding grounds, wintering grounds and migration routes, over 6,543,800 square kilometers, and initially establish an aquatic germplasm conservation zone network covering all sea areas and major inland lakes. Delineating the conservation zone of aquatic germplasm is an effective means to coordinate economic development and resource and environmental protection, which plays an important role in reducing the adverse effects of human activities, alleviating the decline of fishery resources and the ecological deterioration of water areas, and has achieved good ecological and social benefits.
With the increase in the number of aquatic germplasm in conservation zone, the coverage and influence scope are constantly expanding. It is urgent to formulate management measures, further standardize and strengthen the management of protected areas, and solve the problems such as the comparison principle stipulated by relevant laws and regulations, the failure of some construction projects involving important fishery waters such as aquatic germplasm conservation zone to assess and compensate the loss of fishery resources according to law, and the failure of some competent departments to solicit or adopt the opinions of fishery authorities in the process of environmental impact assessment. To this end, my department has formulated the "Measures" on the basis of extensive consultation and careful study and demonstration. The Measures define the establishment conditions, examination and approval procedures, competent departments, management institutions and main responsibilities of conservation zone for aquatic germplasm, stipulate the activities prohibited or restricted in the protected areas, and further improve the environmental impact assessment procedures of construction projects involving conservation zone for aquatic germplasm.