China to share FAST telescope with world Yangtze fishing ban comes into effect

China will open the world’s largest single-dish radio telescope to the international scientific community, according to the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Starting on April 1, scientists from around the world can submit their research proposals online to use the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) in Pingtang county, Guizhou province, and observation periods will be distributed across various research projects starting from Aug 1.

There is currently no restriction on the proposals, but telescope use will prioritize the study of topics including the interstellar medium composed of neutral atomic hydrogen, the polarization of spiral galaxies, and fast radio bursts — transient radio pulses caused by some highenergy astrophysical process not fully understood.

About 10 percent of the telescope’s observation time will be allocated to foreign scientists during the first year of making the instrument available to the world.

A 10-year fishing moratorium in all natural waterways of the Yangtze River, including its major tributaries and lakes, came into effect on Jan 1.

The crackdown on illegal fishing should be enhanced to ensure effective implementation of the ban, VicePremier Hu Chunhua said at the launch ceremony of the moratorium in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, on Dec 31.

Local governments in the basin and related government bodies should work together to implement the ban, which he said was “a key measure” to reverse the degradation of the Yangtze’s ecosystem.

In January 2020, China implemented a full fishing ban in 332 conservation areas in the Yangtze basin. The ban has since been expanded.