Yueyahu Park, or Crescent Lake Park, is a beautiful summer retreat for residents in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu province. But the lake inside the park has been turned into a fishpond that has caused water pollution, the Metropolitan Express reports.

A fishery has severely polluted Crescent Lake in Nanjing in east China's Jiangsu Province. [sina.com]

A resident surnamed Chen said the lake had been a fishpond for more than a decade. Like many others, he is concerned that fish feed and pesticides will continue to pollute the lake.

The lake is currently under contract as a fishery with a person surnamed Yang who told the newspaper he had always been there and could terminate the contract whenever he wanted. When asked about the pollution in the lake, he said the fish in the lake only fed on algae, which did not affect the water quality.

But the results of monitoring tests have proved otherwise. The local environmental protection bureau said excessive fish feed and waste were the main causes of pollution in Crescent Lake, and the lake was now one of the seven most polluted bodies of water in the city.

Yang said the fish from the lake were sold to major wholesale markets in Nanjing, which raised public concern about the safety of fish for consumers.

Both the environmental protection bureau and Crescent Lake Park officials refused to claim responsibility for the matter. An unidentified source from the city's agricultural committee said Crescent Lake used to belong to the bureau of agriculture and forestry, but was detached from it after the bureau was restructured.

The disputes surrounding the situation remain unresolved, and all parties concerned say they hope to reach a suitable solution for better managing the lake.

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