Marine water met quality standards

The vast majority of China’s marine water met high quality standards last year, according to an annual report by the State Oceanic Administration.

The Bulletin of China Marine Environment Status, released on Wednesday, said 95 percent of marine water met the highest standard in thecountry’s four-tier system. The figure is 1 percentage point higher year-on-year.

Inthe four categories, Level 1 marine water must conform to the standard that is suitable for ocean fishery, natural conservations on the sea and conservations for endangered marine life. Level 4, the lowest level, refers to water suitable for use in port areas and ocean development areas.

Among China’s total of about 3 million square kilometers of marine water, the area below Level 4, meaning unable to meet the lowest standards, fell by 9,310 sq km in the spring and 2,600 sq km in the summer last year, the two seasons when marine activities most frequently take place.

Theresultshowssignificant improvements, as the area of such heavily polluted waters only dropped 540 sq km and 1,120sqkmrespectively, inlast year’s report, which was compared with 2014.

However, the report warned that some offshore areas face severe pollution. Among 44 bay areas each with an area of above 100 square kilometers, 17 have water quality below Level 4 year-round.

Sun Shuxian, deputy director of the administration, saida“baychief” mechanism will help tackle pollution, with a top official in each region being held responsible for the environmentwherethebayis located.

Water quality near sewage draining exits in offshore areas saw no significant improvement. Last year, the quality of 78 percent of the water near sewage draining exits was at or below Level 4, according to the report.

The report added that the sea level increased by 38 millimeters last year. WangHua, head of the administration’s MarineForecastandDisaster Relief Department, said the sea level fluctuation largely resulted from the El Nino and La Nina phenomena.

He added that the average annual increase in sea level in China from 1980 to 2016 was 3.2 mm, higher than the global average.