He Li: safeguard coastline of East China Sea

Looking ahead to the future, He hoped for more exchanges with overseas countries and the sharing with each other of experiences and know-how in marine protection. 

He was invited as a representative of "Blue Pioneers", a program of training marine protection professionals in China, to discuss marine sustainable development with King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway and Alibaba founder Jack Ma on Oct 18 in Shanghai.

He also attended a panel discussion about marine protection with Norwegian officials and Shanghai authorities at the Norway-China Business Summit that day. 

"China's marine-protection power is rising, but it is still not so strong and needs more support," said He.

Statistics show that of all the NGOs in China, about 800,000, more than 200 are dedicated to marine protection. 

The marine conditions in China, however, are far from optimistic. There is over eight million tons of trash flowing into the ocean every year around the globe, one third of which comes from China, according to He. 

The trash pollutes the sea environment and threatens the life of ocean creatures. Local news revealed that the East China Sea was faced with the extinction of fish three years ago.

He called for more attention from the public to marine NGOs, and hoped for cooperative efforts from other sectors to reduce the trash, such as restaurants reducing disposable dishware, in the hope of building up a stronger network of coordinated efforts for marine protection in China’s coastlines.

He and his team conduct a joint survey of marine litter with Zhoushan Maritime Safety Administration on Oct 20 to record the local foreign trash. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Qiandao Haiyang Marine Protection Group conducts a coastal cleanup on Qushan Island of Zhoushan on Oct 21. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]