However, the Antarctic moray eel is different from ordinary moray eels. It is a protected animal. Although its protection is limited to a few countries, it is recognized by the International Animal Protection Organization and the protection is extremely strong. Fishing is allowed only with a scientific research certificate issued by a world-class scientific research institution. Otherwise, it is considered poaching. If discovered, in serious cases, the offender may even be sentenced to a lifetime ban from entering the Antarctic Circle.
The seafood produced from the Antarctic waters are all high-quality seafood. Basically, as long as they are engaged in deep-sea fishing, they are afraid of this punishment.
In fact, there are many types of eels in the ocean, and some of them have shapes that are even stranger than the Antarctic eel.
In the United States, there is a migratory species of glass eel.
This kind of eel is more expensive than the same amount of gold. Its whole body is transparent. When they are young, they will swim from the deep sea to the inland of the United States. When they grow up, they will swim back to the deep sea to lay eggs.
So far, no one has ever seen glass eels spawning, because their spawning grounds are deep in the Bermuda Triangle, which is known as a forbidden zone for life.
After thinking about it, Xiang Yang finally shook his head and said, "Forget it. Antarctic moray eels are a new species that have only been discovered recently. The number found so far is extremely rare. It is better not to catch them."
Xiang Yang usually doesn't think about protecting animals, especially those that are extremely rare. Xiang Yang doesn't want a certain species to never be seen again by the next generation because of his generation's greed. That would be such a pity, just like Xiang Yang will never see the Antarctic snow wolf again today.
Gao Chuang had not finished cleaning up his catch yet. There was too much snow and wind on the deck and he could not fish. The only thing he could catch was the Antarctic moray eel, which was a protected species and could not be caught either. For a moment, even Xiang Yang felt a little bored.
At this moment, the outline of a huge ship appeared on the sea in the distance.
"Damn, is that a ship? Why is it so big?" Fang Youqun screamed while staring at the huge ship.
"Quiet." Xiang Yang said in a low voice.
The deck immediately fell silent, and Fang Youqun even covered his mouth with both hands.
Xiang Yang narrowed his eyes and looked at the huge ship, then he said: "If I am not mistaken, it should be a ship of our country."
"Our country's ship?" Fang Youqun asked puzzledly.
"Yes, in fact, you should know it by looking at the hull. Only our country uses such a bright red as the color of the hull." Xiang Yang said with a smile.
The red ship is indeed very large, with a hull over 100 meters long, an oval bow, a six-story-high cabin, and its own satellite signal. It is definitely a national treasure for polar scientific research.
"Xuelong 2." Xia Pengjie exclaimed.
"How do you know it's Xuelong 2?" Xiang Yang asked puzzledly.
"Captain, Xuelong 2 is my country's first independently built polar scientific research icebreaker. It is included in the textbooks of the Maritime University. However, it was not delivered for use until July 2019, and was not included in the textbooks until the following year. When we were marking the key points in the exam, Captain, you had already graduated." Xia Pengjie said with a smile.
Xiang Yang nodded, "So that's how it is, no wonder you were able to recognize it."
Although Xiang Yang did not recognize that this was the Xuelong 2, he was very familiar with the ship.
Xuelong 2 is the world's first polar scientific research icebreaker that uses bidirectional icebreaking technology. It can continuously break ice in two-meter-thick ice. Its manufacture not only marks that my country's shipbuilding technology has reached the world's first-class level, but also fills the gap in my country's major polar scientific research equipment.
Xuelong 2 was also named the Second World Outstanding Marine Project. It perfectly complies with the latest international standards and is the world's first polar research vessel that complies with the latest international rules. At the same time, it is extremely safe, and its elliptical design structure gives it very strong cold resistance.
When Xiang Yang saw Xuelong 2, the people on Xuelong 2 also saw Xiang Yang and his party.
"What a huge fleet, and it's a fishing fleet from the motherland." On the bright red deck of Xuelong 2, a sturdy old man in white protective clothing said with a smile while holding a telescope.
"Yes, our motherland has become stronger over the years, and various technological gaps have been filled one by one. Now, whether it is a scientific research ship or a private fishing boat, it can cross the oceans and reach this icy and snowy land." A middle-aged man who was also wearing a snow-white protective suit said with a smile.
"Academician Zhang, Captain Li, they are on our route. Should we go over and say hello to them?" asked a younger researcher.
"Of course we have to say hello. We are meeting fellow villagers in a foreign country." The sturdy old man, Academician Zhang, laughed heartily.
Towed by the tugboat, Xuelong 2 slowly approached the location where the fishing fleet was staying. A large group of scientific researchers in white protective suits rushed to the deck from the laboratory when they heard that they had encountered an ocean-going fishing fleet from their homeland in Antarctica.
Domestic fishermen are extremely proud and proud that they can reach the Antarctic Ocean. They all feel that their efforts have not been in vain. They have worked so hard to stay in Antarctica to conduct scientific research and invested so much manpower and material resources. Isn’t one of the important reasons to enable domestic fishermen to cast their nets in Antarctica
"Are you from China?" Captain Li asked Xiang Yang and the others loudly as Xuelong 2 slowly stopped in the middle of the fleet at a speed of two or three knots.
Xiang Yang looked at Gao Chuang.
Gao Chuang smiled and asked someone to bring a loudspeaker over. "Yes, that's right. We came from Longcheng. Are you conducting a scientific research investigation?"
Xuelong and Xuelong 2 are both important scientific research vessels for my country in Antarctica. The two research vessels cooperate with each other, each playing to its own advantages, forming a dual-ship operation mode, which is jokingly called the Double Dragon Exploring the Pole. They are an important guarantee for the development of my country's polar scientific research.
"Yes, that's right. The reason we came out this time is to collect a variety of biological specimens unique to Antarctica. Your ship is great. It can actually sail to Antarctica. How did you get?" Academician Zhang asked loudly with a smile.
Gao Chuang pointed to the small motorboats on the sea that were constantly transporting fish catches and processed products to and from the fishing boats and said, "The harvest is not bad."
Academician Zhang smiled and nodded. He had stayed in Antarctica for many years and was very familiar with Antarctic fishery resources. In today's environment, as long as there was a fishing boat that had the ability to reach Antarctica and successfully break the ice, it would have a good harvest.
Academician Zhang was very pleased. In the past, he saw that there were so many fishery resources in Antarctica, but domestic fishermen had no way to reach them. If Chinese people wanted to eat Antarctic seafood, they could only import it.