By Daniel Cressey, Jiang Mengnan

In a white paper, the State Council Information Office has outlined China’s progress in marine law, pollution control, ecological restoration, low-carbon development, and other ocean-related topics.

Released this month, “China’s Marine Ecological Environment Protection” highlights the country’s designation of 150,000 sq km within marine “ecological redlines”. The country has also established 352 marine nature reserves, protecting approximately 93,300 sq km of marine areas, and is working on establishing five candidate marine national parks. The white paper states that this effort has aided the recovery of rare species such as the spotted seal, of which there are over 2,000 now wintering annually in Liaodong Bay.

Ecological redlines mark out areas deemed ecologically important and in need of protection. They include grasslands, wetlands, coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass ecosystems. The 150,000 sq km under marine redlines align with the targets in the “National Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan (2023-2030)” submitted as part of China’s commitment to the UN biodiversity convention. As not all ecological redline areas are under effective protection, they may or may not contribute to the global goal of protecting 30% of marine areas by 2030.

The white paper emphasises enhancing the level of green and low-carbon marine development. This includes more sustainable use of fishery resources, such as via extending the closed fishing seasons and expanding the scope of seasonal fishing bans. The paper also identifies marine ranching as a key area for growth. China has established 169 national marine ranching demonstration zones and is gradually shifting marine aquaculture from coastal to deep-sea areas, with the aim of promoting the conservation of fishery resources and greener aquaculture. 

As well as ranching, green shipping and clean energy are key areas. Efforts are being made to use new energy in ports and ships, and to construct three green shipping corridors. The white paper mentions that by the end of 2023, China’s cumulative installed capacity of offshore wind power reached 38 gigawatts, accounting for about 50% of the global total, ranking first in the world for a fourth consecutive year.

The white paper concludes by stressing China’s international cooperation in the marine sector, including restricting its fishers’ catches on certain parts of the high seas. Last September, China signed the High Seas Biodiversity Agreement (BBNJ). The paper notes that China has also signed intergovernmental and departmental marine cooperation agreements with over 50 countries and international organisations involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

The white paper does not mention progress on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, though previous documents have indicated that China recognises the important role of the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) in combating IUU fishing and is considering signing it.

Drive to replace problematic species names

A group of marine scientists want their colleagues to stop calling Ziphius cavirostris by the name Cuvier’s beaked whale.

The push is part of a wider attempt by some researchers to replace problematic species names. In the case of Z. cavirostris, the problem is Georges Cuvier, a French biologist who died in the 19th century.

“Many modern scientists may not be familiar with Cuvier’s role in creating and disseminating scientific racism and how his racist beliefs were foundational in his research practices and theories,” say Andrew Read of Duke University Marine Laboratory in the US, and his colleagues in a recent paper in the journal Marine Mammal Science.

Some taxonomists have even argued that the entire practice of naming species after people should be left in the past.

It is not only people’s names that can be problematic though. Read and colleagues’ paper came out just before botanists had voted to change over 200 plant names that contain a racial slur. Seabird names have previously come under similar scrutiny, with Hawaiian species being given native names in place of colonial-era impositions. And two years ago, US authorities stopped calling highly invasive fish species “Asian carp” as they considered the name xenophobic.

First published in Dialogue Earth.