At the beginning of the new year, the Master Plan of Yuhuan National Marine Park (2022-2035) (the “Master Plan”), prepared by the ecological protection and restoration team of the central island and coastal zone of the SIO, was approved by the Zhejiang Provincial Forestry Bureau. It is also the first approved master plan of the marine nature reserves in Zhejiang Province.

Yuhuan National Marine Park was established in 2016 to mainly protect the mangrove ecosystem and wetland birds such as platalea minor and larus saundersi, marine economic organisms such as large yellow croaker and silver pomfret, island reef and shellfish such as Thais clayigera and Septifer virgatus, as well as intertidal macroalgae such as sargassum thunbergii, sargassum fusiforme in Yuhuan Pishan Island and Yueqing Bay waters. In 2022, based on the investigation and analysis of the ecological environment, resource characteristics and development and utilization status of Yuhuan National Marine Park, the scientific research team of the SIO identified the direction of protection and utilization of different functional areas, scientifically assessed the environmental capacity and tourist scale of the marine park, and made a key plan for infrastructure capacity building, scientific research monitoring, conservation management and ecological restoration of the park in accordance with the ecological protection red line and the management and control requirements of protected natural areas. It is clearly stated in the approved Master Plan that the total area of Yuhuan National Marine Park is 30669 hectares, including 25168 hectares of strictly controlled areas (3173 hectares of key protected areas, 21995 hectares of ecological and resource recovery areas) and 5501 hectares of reasonably utilized areas (moderately utilized areas).    

The Master Plan approved will become the basis for protection, management and construction of Yuhuan National Marine Park, and is of great significance for implementing the principle of “development in protection and protection in development”, regulating the protection and utilization of the marine park, protecting and restoring the marine environment and biological resources.