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Fish to combat pollution in Chinese lakes

By Xinhua

Nanjing : Chinese fishery experts have released 100 million eggs of a small species of herring into the country’s third large freshwater body to clear it of algae pollution.

The move to clean the Taihu lake came a week after neighbouring Anhui province released 1.6 million fish into Chaohu Lake, which also faces a similar threat to its eco-system.

The whitebait, a small sprat, is famous for its tender meat. The fish is expected to curb the blue algae pollution since they feed on plankton, including algae and protozoans.

An excess of the algae removes oxygen from the water and can kill fish and other aquatic life forms.

The algae outbreak in certain areas of Taihu has rendered tap water undrinkable for almost 10 days. More than one million residents in Wuxi in Jiangsu province have been affected.