Ritual kicks off fishing festival
By Tan Yingzi (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-09-15 03:23

The Seventh China Fishing Festival, held in China Fishing Village in Xiangshan County of Ningbo September 14-16, sees local fishermen celebrating the new fishing season after a three-month suspension of fishing on the East China Sea.

In 1995 Chinese fishery administrations implemented a suspension of fishing during summer months on the East China, Yellow, and Bohai Seas in order to protect marine resources. In 1999, the area of suspension expanded to the South China Sea.

This year's festival, themed "Treating the ocean as well as treating ourselves", kicked off Tuesday with a sacrificial ceremony.

Fishermen offer sacrifices to the sea at the Seventh China Fishing Festival, held in Xiangshan of Ningbo Tuesday. [newsphoto]

Xiangshan, the famous fishing county, boasts China's largest number of private sea fishing boats. In local tradition, fishermen hold a sacrificial rite for the sea at the beginning of each fishing season, appreciating the bounty of the ocean and praying for safety and good harvest.

With a growing concern of ocean protection among fishermen, in recent years, the sacrificial ceremony became a major part of the China Fishing Festival, which aims to promote the fishing culture of the region as well as call more attention towards ocean protection.

120 fishermen dressed in ancient costumes, held a big bowl of wine, walked 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 dried fruits into the water.

Five children put sea turtles, yellow croaker fries and other fish to the sea, symbolizing the protection of ocean ecology and sustainable fishery development.

In 2000, fisherman Lin Yongfa and 20 counterparts in Xiangshan initiated a voluntary organization -- Blue Guards Voluntary Movement. As the first non-governmental organization of its kind, the Blue Guards aim to promote the conception of "Give in order to take" through their own efforts.

They 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, looking for supporters and participants.

"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 over fishing not only greatly destroyed the marine resources but affected our businesses," said Lin.

"Now we realize that sea is the mother of fishermen and before we take from her, we must give to her first," he said.

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