Zhejiang bay infertile

Yueqing Bay in Zhejiang Province, which used to be a famous and diversified inshore fishing ground, is now infertile, reported China Central Television.

The bay, which in history bred over 20 sorts of fish and 58 species of shellfish, is dotted with pollutant discharge pipelines along its shore. The water is still yellow and stinks even after sailing 10 kilometers offshore.

Xu Jianping, an oceanic environment professor, said the heavy metals, including lead, cadmium, arsenic and copper, which are discharged through the pipeline into the sea, have piled up and now threaten the fishing industry.

According to the latest report by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, of the country's four sea regions, the inshore water quality of the East China Sea is extremely bad, with an excessive level of copper and cadmium.