World Ocean Day Court and Procuratorate Work Together to Safeguard the Green Water, Cross-Regional Cooperate to Paint a Blue Landscape

　　Shining waves, clear water and blue sky. On the occasion of the 16th World Ocean Day, Qingdao Maritime Court, together with Rizhao Procuratorate, Marine Development Bureau of Lanshan District and other units, jointly carried out public interest litigation ecological compensation release activities in the Rizhao Lanshan sea area, held a marine judicial protection cooperation forum, and signed the Several Opinions on Building a Marine Ecological Judicial Protection Cooperation Mechanism, promoted the establishment of a trans-regional cooperation mechanism for marine ecological protection.

　　Propagation and Release

　　In 2021, Mr. Song and other three people used prohibited fishing gear to illegally catch more than 40,000 kilograms wild corbicula in the Yellow Sea, caused serious damage to the benthic environment of marine organisms and fishery resources, and harmed public interests.

　　People's Procuratorate of Rizhao filed a civil public interest litigation to Qingdao Maritime Court, requesting Mr. Song and others to bear more than 480,000 RMB compensation fees for the ecological damage of marine fishery resources or to repair the damaged fishery resources by propagating and releasing the corresponding specifications of fish, shrimp and crab seedlings.

　　After mediation by the court, Mr. Song and others expressed their willingness to repair the damaged marine fishery resources and ecological environment. This activity of propagation and release is the active fulfillment of obligation to repair by Mr. Song and others under the joint supervision of Court and Procuratorate.

　　Under the guidance of the competent marine fisheries authorities, a total of more than 15.46 million fish, shrimp and crab seedlings were released into the sea. This activity is a vivid practice of Qingdao Maritime Court and Rizhao Procuratorate to apply the concept of restorative ecology and serve the high-quality development of marine economy. Qingdao Maritime Court will continue to follow up the restoration and implementation of public interest litigation cases on marine ecological environment to effectively protect the restoration of damaged marine ecological environment.

　　Blue Carbon Base

　　After the activities, Qingdao Maritime Court and Rizhao Procuratorate went to Lanshan District Duodao Sea Tamarisk Park to investigate the blue carbon sink practice base jointly built by the two sides. The base is located in the Lanshan District Duodao Sea Road Tamarisk Park, which is a marine ecological special reserve mainly for planting Tamarisk.

　　Tamarisk likes to live on the seashore, beachhead and saline-alkali wetland, does not need special management after planting, plays a good role in preventing wind, fixing sand and transforming saline-alkali land. At the same time, Tamarix and Suaeda growing in the base can play a role in carbon absorption and carbon fixation, and are effective carriers of blue carbon sinks. The construction of blue carbon sink practice base is a beneficial attempt to accurately serve the “Dual Carbon” target

　　Qingdao Maritime Court and Rizhao Procuratorate will explore alternative restoration methods such as planting Tamarix and Suaeda in the practice base to achieve multi-mode restoration of damaged marine resources and ecological environment, and escort the construction of marine ecological civilization with “Blue Justice”.

　　Forum Exchanges

　　At the forum on marine natural resources and ecological environment public interest litigation, the two sides exchanged the work development of public interest litigation in the field of marine protection in recent years, and the trial of the public interest cases on marine natural resources and ecological environment, and jointly signed Several Opinions on Building a Marine Ecological Judicial Protection Cooperation Mechanism.

　　The opinions put forward that the two sides will further strengthen coordination and cooperation on constructing “Blue Carbon Sink” practice base, carrying out joint linkage, building collaborative consultation mechanism, improving the ecological damage compensation system and public interest litigation mechanism, improving the cross-regional collaboration mechanism, implementing the practice of marine carbon sinks action, actively building a full-media, three-dimensional publicity mechanism, and provide judicial safeguard in promoting cross-regional marine ecological protection,

　　Let those who catch become those who release, and those who harm become those who protect.

　　This “World Ocean Day” activity is a vivid example of the cohesion of Qingdao Maritime Court and the procuratorial organs for marine environmental protection. Qingdao Maritime Court will take this activity as an opportunity, based on the trial duties, regularly “return visit and check effect” of the marine ecological environment and resources cases, carry out legal publicity, and contribute maritime judicial power to the high-quality development of the marine economy towards the goal of “blue development and harmony between people and the sea”.