Effects of Aquaculture on Lakes in the Central Yangtze River Basin, China, I. Water Quality

Abstract Lake aquaculture in China has become more common, but there has been only limited research on its effects on the quality of lake water. We measured selected water quality parameters from July to September 2015 in 23 lakes in the middle reach of the Yangtze River basin to investigate the effects of different types of lake aquaculture on water quality. The lakes were classified as “low,” “medium,” “high,” or “fallow” based on their stocking rate. The results showed that turbidity, total suspended solids, chemical oxygen demand, conductivity, chloride, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, orthophosphate, and chlorophyll a were lowest in the low lakes and highest in the high or medium lakes (and on occasion in the fallow lakes). These results confirm a close relationship between the level of fish stocking and many of the water quality parameters measured and that the effects of banning aquaculture in the fallow lakes has likely not yet been fully realized.