A staff member from the Management Committee of Hangzhou West Lake Scenic Area catches fish from the West Lake. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]

West Lake is an iconic and symbolic site in Hangzhou, capital city of East China's Zhejiang province, and the city launched a survey of fish in the lake on Oct 13, which was the first of its kind in Hangzhou.

Over the following two days, staff members from the Management Committee of Hangzhou West Lake Scenic Area will carry out fixed-point net fishing in eight areas of the lake.

Then, they will try to figure out the number and biomass of fish at each area according to their different fish species type and feeding habits. Following that, they will create an index of fish resources in the West Lake and their conditions.

More than 10 species of fish in the lake were determined on the first day.

In addition, surveys of the birds, plankton, and benthic animals in the West Lake Scenic Area have also been underway, which will provide references to further improving the scenic area's ecological environment in the future.

Since 1985, Hangzhou has taken various measures to improve the ecological environment of West Lake.

Currently, its water transparency has been increased from 40 centimeters to 80 cm , while the area of submerged vegetation at the bottom of the lake has been recovered to 317,000 square meters.