Prompt action by police saves thousands of baby eels
Illegally fished baby eels seized by the police. They will be released back to the sea.
Six people have been detained for fishing for baby eels during the prohibited period, Shanghai police said on Sunday.
Shanghai allows licensed fishing of baby eels only in a certain sea areas from January 15 to April 15 every year. Eels can’t be raised in fish ponds. Because of their rarity and high price, they’re known as “soft gold.”
Police started their investigation in April after receiving information that people were illegally fishing and buying baby eels.
The suspects were caught at several locations in Shanghai and Zhejiang Province at the end of April, with 2,400 baby eels and two fishing nets seized from them.
The suspects had allegedly traded more than 13,000 baby eels for over 130,000 yuan (US$20,000), police said.
This was the largest illegal baby eel fishing case in Shanghai so far this year.
A 10-year fishing ban on the Yangtze River took effect on January 1 this year, while fishing is also banned in all waterways in Shanghai from February 16 to May 16 every year, except for recreational angling.
