නැගෙනහිර චීන මුහුද සීල් සතුන්ට වඩාත් හිතකර වෙයි

Marine ecology improved for leopard seals in east China waters

A national marine park in east China's Shandong Province has doubled efforts to improve the marine ecology and environment for leopard seals which migrate through these waters.

The leopard seal is listed as national first-class protected species and the only pinniped animal that can breed in the Chinese waters.

Every year, the seals migrate along a fixed route which passes the waters of Changdao County of Shandong.

Changdao, located between Jiaodong Peninsula and Liaodong Peninsula and at the intersection of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea, is a provincial seal nature reserve, with fine ecological environment and extremely rich marine organisms including more than 600 types of fish, shrimps, crabs, shellfish and algae, providing an ideal place for the seals to rest during their migration.

"Every year from March to May, the leopard seals which migrate eastwards will come to Changdao to rest and find food. Sometimes, several hundreds of them arrive here," said Chu Yongzhong, director of the Resources Supervision Department of the Changdao National Marine Park Administration Center.

In order to effectively protect natural ecology and species diversity, the local authorities have in recent years restored seaweeds and algae in 20,000 square meters of waters around five islands and thrown more than 400 artificial algal reefs into the sea.

"We threw the ecological reefs into the sea to gather fish which provide abundant food for the leopard seals," said Wu Zhongxun, deputy director of the Administration Center of the park.

With the improvement of the marine ecology and environment, more and more seals come to breed at Changdao and stay longer in its waters.

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