Across China: Fishermen race to save Yangtze finless porpoises

He Daming, a veteran fisherman in central China's Dongting Lake, rests easy knowing a large school of endangered finless porpoises are living safely under his watch.

In 2011, he established a volunteer group in the desolate Bianshan Island in the middle of Dongting Lake to help the mammals.

At the time, He, now 48, only knew of three finless porpoises living in adjacent lakes. A half-decade later, the local population is thriving with more than 70.

Together with another five full-time members, mostly former fishermen, he lived on a tent on the island, patrolling the area day and night in a small diesel ship in order to stop illegal fishing.

"The finless porpoises flee to dangerous waters if scared by illegal fishing, so we can not relax in our efforts," said He.

They gradually created a 4-square-kilometer habitat in the lake. While it is not officially designated under government protection, it has attracted more and more porpoises thanks to their efforts.

There are only around 1,000 finless porpoises, a dolphin-like freshwater mammal with iconic "grins" on the face, in the Yangtze River and two lakes that are linked to the busy waterway.

The Yangtze River, China's longest waterway, is rich in aquatic bio-diversity. A decade ago, it was the only river in the world that had two kinds of aquatic mammals living in it at the same time -- the finless porpoise and the white-flag dolphin.

However, a 2006 survey found no white-flag dolphins in the river, suggesting they were "functionally extinct," which means the population is too small for the species to reproduce.

Scientists predict that without efficient protection, the finless porpoise will also disappear in five to 10 years.

"The Yangtze finless porpoise, the only freshwater porpoise in the world, is at the top of the Yangtze food chain, marking the river's biodiversity and healthy ecology," said Zhao Qihong, head of the East Dongting Lake National Nature Reserve Administration.

"The prospect of the finless porpoise determines the future for fishermen," said He Daming, who was taught how to fish by his grandfather and father at the age of 9.

The decline of the finless porpoises were a result of China's industrial and agricultural pollution, boat traffic in the river basin and changes to their habitat by infrastructure that cuts off their ability to navigate through the river to find food sources and reproduce.

He Daming first noticed the impact of his fishing while at a fish market in 2006. Looking to cook a Mid-autumn Festival dinner for his son, he visited the market but was unable to find any wild fish due to overfishing.

"As a fishermen, I should say, it is all our fault," said He.

He was so shaken, he stopped his own fishing and founded the East Dongting Lake Ecological Protection Association in 2011. With pubic support, he raised 300,000 yuan (46,154 U.S. dollars) and bought a patrol ship.

Making ends meet has long been a headache for him.

Diesel and daily expenses cost them at least 20,000 yuan a month. While their biggest source of funding is 60,000 yuan a year from Xiangjiang Cables. Their only source of personal income is a 1,000 yuan monthly salary from the Hunan-based company.

He is a bit relieved as more than 1,000 volunteers participate in the protection efforts each year and a number of non-governmental organizations are giving a helping hand.

He is currently negotiating with the SEE Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in environmental protection in China, for an annual sponsorship of 100,000 yuan.

"Should the monthly salary of full-time volunteers double to 2,000 yuan, it will be good for the long-term protection of the mammals," He said.

He also called for government authorities to give them more support as they have no right of law enforcement. Endi