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CPR/88/077

People's Republic of China
Fisheries Development in Qinghai Province
A Management Plan for the Naked Carp Fishery of Qinghai Lake

Prepared by
K.F. Walker
Lake Management Advisor,
Department of Zoology, University of Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
FOOD & AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Rome, January 1993

A report to the Government of the People's Republic of China
by the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
acting as executing agency for the United Nations Development Program

Hyperlinks to non-FAO Internet sites do not imply any official endorsement of or responsibility for the opinions, ideas, data or products presented at these locations, or guarantee the validity of the information provided. The sole purpose of links to non-FAO sites is to indicate further information available on related topics.

This electronic document has been scanned using optical character recognition (OCR) software. FAO declines all responsibility for any discrepancies that may exist between the present document and its original printed version.

CONTENTS

Executive Summary

1 INTRODUCTION

1.2 Work Program

1.3 Project Personnel

1.3.1 Research Staff

1.3.2 Provincial Administration

1.3.3 Agency Administration

1.3.4 Technical Advisors

1.4 Acknowledgements

2 THE PHYSICAL SETTING

3 THE LAKE ENVIRONMENT

3.1 Environmental Measurements

3.1.1 Meteorological and Hydrological Data

3.1.2 Sampling Stations

3.1.3 Water Chemistry

3.1.4 Benthos

3.1.5 Plankton

3.2 Basin Morphometry

3.3 Historical Changes in Water Level and Salinity

3.4.1 Precipitation and Evaporation

3.4.2 Major Inflows

3.4.3 Lake Water Budget

3.5 Lake Thermal Characteristics

3.5.1 Wind Speed and Direction

3.5.2 Air and Water Temperatures

3.5.3 Seasonal Thermal Behaviour

3.6.1 Major Ions, Salinity and pH

3.6.2 Nutrients

3.7 Lake Sediments

3.8 River Water Quality

3.11 Lake Fauna

4. BIOLOGY OF NAKED CARP

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Evolutionary History

4.3 Taxonomy And Distribution

4.4 Salinity Tolerance

4.6 Reproduction

4.6.1 Sex Determination

4.6.2 Gonad Development

4.6.3 Early Development

4.6.4 Spawning Behaviour

4.6.5 Fecundity

4.7.1 Methods

4.7.2 Length and Weight

4.7.3 Growth Curve

4.7.4 Cohort Analysis

4.7.5 Tagging and Marking Investigations

4.7.6 Fingerling Growth Experiments

4.9 Stock Recruitment

4.10 Translocation

5. THE NAKED CARP FISHERY

5.1 Sources of Data

5.1.1 Bureau Statistics

5.1.2 Trawler Logbooks

5.2 History of the Fishery

5.3 Changes in Fishing Techniques

5.4 Changes in Trawler Catches

5.4.1 Reliability of Logbooks

5.4.2 Catch per Unit Effort in Designated Areas

5.4.3 Trends in Lakewide Catch per Unit Effort

5.4.4 Monthly Distribution of Catches

5.5 Changes in the Exploited Stock

5.6 Current Regulations

5.7 Present Activities

5.7.1 Authorised and Unauthorised Catches

5.7.2 Control and Protection

5.7.3 Capital Investment

5.8 Sustainable Yield

5.9 Catch Processing

5.9.1 Handling

5.9.2 Processing

5.9.3 Marketing

6 MANAGEMENT PROPOSALS

6.2 Present Status of the Fishery

6.3 Management Considerations

6.3.1 Fish Factory Operations

6.3.2 Rationalisation of the Fishery

6.3.3 Policing

6.3.4 Fishery Statistics

6.3.5 Environmental Monitoring

6.3.6 Protection of Spawning Environments

6.3.7 Personnel and Personnel Management

6.3.8 Adaptive Management

6.3.9 Potential for a Naked Carp Hatchery

6.3.10 Translocations of Naked Carp

6.3.11 Translocations of Other Species

6.4 Extended Studies

7 REFERENCES

APPENDIX I
Literature on Qinghai Lake

APPENDIX II
Environmental Data

APPENDIX III
Fauna and Flora recorded from Qinghai Lake

APPENDIX IV
Temporary Regulations for the Qinghai Lake Fishery

APPENDIX V
Summaries of Trawler Logbook Data, 1980–92