Posted on 08/12/2007 8:23:14 PM PDT by JACKRUSSELL
(Beijing)--Facing deteriorating water quality, Hubei Province in central China has banned the booming pearl farming in all its lakes, rivers and reservoirs, the local government said.
Pearl farms have covered a total area of 32,123 acres in the province, and the annual output has exceeded 400 tonnes, a government spokesman said on Saturday.
Some farmers resorted to pesticides and manure to farm the pearl oysters, which has caused swathes of algae to bloom in the water, and turned the water stinky, he said.
The government said it would not approve new applications to establish such pearl farms, and has ordered all water areas used to cultivate pearls to be cleaned.
Over the past several months, blue-green algae outbreaks, usually caused by pesticides runoffs and other pollutants, have been reported in Taihu, Chaohu and Dianchi Lake in southwestern China, endangering domestic water supplies to millions of people.
The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) has unveiled a set of tough new rules last month to tackle worsening pollution in the three lakes.
The rules include a ban on all projects involving discharges containing ammonia and phosphorus. The SEPA has also ordered all fish farms to be removed from the three lake areas by the end of 2008.
Guess I know where to throw the $ tomorrow.
Pearl Futures! BUY! BUY! BUY!
...apologies to Marge Simpson...
...so that’s what happened to mom’s necklace. I thought the pickle jar was a good hiding place...
Same “stinky waters” that produce all that deadly chinese fish flooding the US market as we speak.
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