FISH COMMUNITY RESPONSES TO DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT MODELS IN YANGMING LAKE AFTER THE DECADE-LONG FISHING BAN

With the implementation of the Yangtze River Great Protection Strategy, ecological conservation-oriented fisheries models have emerged as a key pathway to promote the sustainable development of freshwater lake and reservoir fisheries. Taking Yangming Lake after the full implementation of the fishing ban as a case study, this research conducted eight quarterly surveys from 2022 to 2024 in both the Yangming Lake Ecological Fisheries Zone and the fishing-ban zone. The study comprehensively compared and analyzed fish community differences under different management models, exploring the implementation effects of the fishing ban and the degree of disturbance caused by ecological fisheries models on fish communities. Results show that fish resources in both management zones of Yangming Lake demonstrated significant recovery after the full fishing ban: the number of fish species in the fishing-ban zone and ecological fisheries zone increased from 25 and 28species (pre-ban) to 44 and 34species (post-ban), respectively, with biodiversity in both regions improved when compared to historical data. Analyses indicate that ecological fishing did not cause statistically significant disturbances to fish communities in the ecological fisheries zone and could moderately enhance the functional richness of fish communities. However, fish diversity indices in the ecological fisheries zone were significantly lower than those in the fishing-ban zone. In terms of community composition, the abundance of small-sized fish in the ecological fisheries zone was significantly lower, while the abundance of predatory fish was significantly higher. Future recommendations include further strict enforcement of the decade-long fishing ban to facilitate continued recovery of fish resources and in-depth exploration of sustainable ecological fishing management models, laying a foundation for the science-based utilization and management of Yangtze River fish resources after the completion of the ten-year fishing ban.