YUMINGZUI VILLAGE, China — On a moonless night, when there was nothing in the air except the smell of rotting seaweed and the songs of drunken fishermen, Wang Xinfeng sneaked¹ onto a boat by the dock and sailed into the darkness.

中国鱼鸣嘴村——在一个无月之夜，空气中只有腐烂的海藻的气味，只听得见醉醺醺的渔民的歌声，王新峰偷偷潜入一艘停靠在码头边的渔船，驶入了黑暗之中。

Like his father and grandfather before him, Mr Wang, 53, made a living combing the Yellow Sea for flounder, herring, fat greenling and yellow croaker.

和他的父亲、祖父此前一样，53岁的王新峰也是靠与黄海搏斗为生，从中获取比目鱼、鲱鱼、大泷六线鱼和黄花鱼。

But now the government, hoping to limit environmental damage and encourage villagers to find new jobs, had banned fishing during the summer.

但现在政府已经下令今年夏季禁捕。政府希望对环境的破坏进行控制，鼓励渔民寻找新的工作。

Mr Wang, desperate to pay medical bills, had taken to venturing into the water at night to avoid detection.

王新峰急需支付医疗账单，开始大着胆子在夜间入海捕鱼，以避免被人看到。

I was raised at sea — this is my home, he said.

我是在海边长大的——大海是我的家，他说。

Even if it’s a rough life, I have to fish.

虽然艰辛，我还是得捕鱼。

For centuries, residents of Yumingzui, a village of 562 people in the eastern province of Shandong, enjoyed a quiet life by the ocean, harvesting enough fish, sea cucumbers and abalone to support a prosperous seafood² trade.

鱼鸣嘴是东部省份山东的一座人口为562人的村庄。几个世纪以来，这里的村民一直在海边过着宁静的生活，可以捕到足够的鱼类、海参和鲍鱼，支撑起繁荣的海鲜贸易。

While nearby villages fell victim to tourism and development, Yumingzui persevered³, clinging to ancient fishing rites⁴ and homes made of seaweed.

尽管附近的村庄先后成为旅游与开发的牺牲品，鱼鸣嘴却得以幸免。这里的村民一直坚持在世代相传的地点捕捞，住在海草房里。

Now Yumingzui is on the verge⁵ of extinction⁶.

现在，鱼鸣嘴却濒临消失。

Pollution, overfishing and rising sea temperatures, brought on by global warming, have devastated⁷ the supply of fish.

污染、过度捕捞和由全球变暖带来的海洋温度的不断上升，摧毁了这里的渔业资源。

Local officials, hoping to invigorate the economy and reduce reliance on outdated⁸ industries, have imposed restrictions⁹ on fishing and ordered the village to be demolished¹⁰ next year to make way for a luxury resort.

当地官员一心想提振地方经济、减少对陈旧产业的依赖，于是对捕捞进行限制，还要求明年将这个村子拆除，用以建造一座豪华度假村。

The plan has prompted fear among the people of Yumingzui, many of whom trace their ancestry¹¹ back hundreds of years.

这项计划在鱼鸣嘴村民中引发了担忧，他们当中有许多人的祖先在这里生活的时间可以追溯几百年。

Some are wrestling with the loss of a place they consider sacred.

一些人奋力抗争，希望可以避免失去他们眼中的神圣之地。

Others have deep anxieties about adopting a modern lifestyle, worried about prospects¹² for a new career and the high cost of amenities¹³ like electricity.

另一些则对转向现代化的生活方式存有深深的顾虑，担心新职业的前景，也担心使用电力等便利设施的成本太高。

Many fishermen have pledged to keep fishing, even after the village is destroyed.

很多渔民表示在村庄被拆毁之后还会继续捕鱼。

What else can I do, become an accountant? Mr Wang said as he carried buckets of bait and trash through ankle-high mud.

不然我要干啥，当会计？王新峰一边说，一边提着几桶鱼饵和垃圾穿越没过脚踝的泥地。

Yumingzui, named for the cries of the fish that were said to surround its shores, was once a fisherman’s paradise.

鱼鸣嘴得名于村庄近海，在岸上可以听到鱼鸣之声。

Its location near the southern tip of Qingdao, a major port city once occupied by Japan and Germany, gave it access to a booming market for seafood.

这里曾是渔民的天堂。它靠近曾被日本和德国占领的大港口城市青岛的最南端，可以方便地进入一个日渐兴旺的海鲜市场。

But lax enforcement of fishing and antipollution rules, as well as the proliferation of commercial fishing boats, has left the surrounding waters depleted¹⁴ of the delicacies¹⁵ that visitors demand.

不过，捕捞和反污染法规执行上的松懈，以及商业捕捞船的迅速增加，使周边水域的渔产被耗尽，令游客无法享用他们想要的美味佳肴。

Across eastern China, overfishing has become a crisis, and species that were once common, like eel¹⁶ and Spanish mackerel, are now scarce.

在中国整个东部沿海，过度捕捞逐渐成为一种危机，海鳗和鲅鱼等曾经很常见的物种如今陷入匮乏。

In 2014, fishermen caught 13 million tons of fish, official statistics show, exceeding the national limit by more than four million tons.

官方统计数据显示，2014年渔民捕捞了1300万吨渔产，超越了全国不能多于400万吨的限制。

In hard-hit areas, the government has sought to promote tourism as an alternative to fishing, encouraging villagers to lead tours and open hotels and restaurants.

在受冲击比较严重的地区，政府试图促进旅游业的发展，将之作为渔业的替代。它们鼓励村民带旅游团，经营旅馆和餐馆。

In some towns, bulletin boards offer guidance on being good hosts, reminding people to dress nicely and dutifully respond to questions from visitors.

在一些城镇，公告栏上提供了一些有关如何做好东道主的指导，提醒人们注意穿着，尽职尽责地回应游客的提问。

In recent years, dozens of villages have been demolished to make room for resorts catering¹⁷ to the growing middle class, with names like Golden Sand and Mangrove¹⁸ Tree.

最近几年，陆续有几十座村庄遭到拆除，让道给迎合日益增多的中产阶级需求的度假村，往往还会给这些地方起个金沙和红树林这样的名字。

The increase in tourism has helped spread prosperity to villages like Yumingzui, but the high demand for seafood has also brought destruction to the environment.

旅游业的发展将繁荣带至鱼鸣嘴这样的村庄，但对海鲜的高需求也对环境造成了破坏。

I love the sea, but not everybody respects the rule of nature, said Liu Qiang, 46, who was born and raised in Yumingzui.

我爱大海，但不是所有人都尊重大自然的规律，46岁的刘强说。他在鱼鸣嘴出生，也在这里长大。

Tourists are the reason fishermen are exploiting the sea.

旅游是渔民过度捕捞的原因。

Mr Liu said that today, it takes him about two weeks to catch the same amount of fish he could catch in one day in the 1990s.

刘强表示，他在90年代的时候一天能捕到的鱼，现在要花大概两周才能捕到。

When word came several years ago that Yumingzui would be razed¹⁹ to make way for a resort, villagers protested.

几年前，当鱼鸣嘴村将被夷为平地、用来建度假村的消息传出时，村民曾表示抗议。

Some traveled to Beijing in hopes of persuading officials to reconsider the decision.

有些人跑到北京，希望能说服官方重新考虑这项决定。

To ease the concerns of villagers, the government offered apartments in a modern complex called South Island Tower, complete with German-style architecture, high-speed internet and palatial²⁰ entryways.

为了消除村民的顾虑，政府为他们提供了公寓，位于名为南岛安置小区的现代住宅区内。那里有德国风格的建筑、高速网络和富丽堂皇的入口。

But several residents said they were still unsatisfied.

但好几位村民表示他们仍然无法接受。

Chen Ruifen, 70, who moved to the village a half century ago when she married her husband, a fisherman, said she thought the plan would benefit local officials, not ordinary people.

年过七旬的陈瑞芬表示，她觉得这个计划对当地官员有利，对普通百姓则没什么好处。半个世纪前，因嫁给这里的一个渔民，她来到了鱼鸣嘴村。

We don’t even have money to put any decorations on our walls, said Ms Chen, a sweet potato, radish and wheat farmer.

我们连刷墙的钱都没有，陈瑞芬说。她靠种植红薯、萝卜和小麦为生。

As she sat at the entrance of her courtyard home, her hands dyed purple from picking mulberries, Ms Chen recounted how she had pleaded with officials to keep her home.

她坐在自家庭院的门口，手指因为采摘桑葚而染得紫红。她讲述了自己如何乞求政府官员留下她的房子。

I’m getting old and dying soon, she said.

我年纪越来越大，也活不久了，她说。

I don’t know what else I can do.

我不知道自己还能做什么。

Across town, in a house overlooking the southern shore of the village, Xue Li, 45, said he would miss waking up each day to blue skies and the wail²¹ of the sea breeze.

在鱼鸣嘴另一头，一座可以俯瞰村子南部海岸景色的房子里，45岁的薛礼（音）说他会怀念每天早上醒来看见蓝天、有海风拂面的日子。

He stared into the distance as the sun set on a row of high-rise apartments across the bay.

他凝视着远方，日光正洒落在海湾对面一排高耸的公寓楼上。

These are our roots, he said.

这些是我们的根，他说。

Nobody wants to move.

没人愿意搬走。

His son, Xue Shenye, 17, who is studying to become a cook, disagreed.

他17岁的儿子薛申烨（音）则不这么想。他正在学习如何做厨师。

For young people, he said, Yumingzui is quaint²² and isolated²³.

他表示，对年轻人来说，鱼鸣嘴既老旧又偏僻。

We can’t live like this forever, he said.

我们不能永远这么生活下去，他说。

Many fishermen said they would continue to pursue their lifestyle after they relocated, partly because they considered it a duty, and partly because they did not have other options.

很多渔民表示，在搬迁之后他们会继续过现在的生活，一方面是因为他们觉得自己有责任这么做，另一方面也是由于别无选择。

Xue Qingbin, 48, who has fished near Yumingzui for more than three decades, said the challenges posed by environmental destruction were becoming more apparent.

现年48岁的薛青滨已经在鱼鸣嘴附近捕了30多年的鱼。他表示环境破坏带来的挑战正变得越来越明显。

He said there were now only three good months of fishing each year.

他称，如今每年只有三个月能有不错的收成。

Still, with a daughter in college and a son in middle school, he said he had no choice but to fish.

但他说，因为有一个读大学的女儿和一个上中学的儿子，他没得选择，只能继续捕鱼。

We need money to pay for our children’s education, he said, and now we’re getting old and can’t find other jobs.

我们需要赚钱让孩子上学，他说。现在年纪大了，也找不到其他工作。

After fishing all night, Mr Wang returned from the sea shortly after 8 a.m. with a bucket of jellyfish.

捕了一晚上鱼，王新峰在早上八点刚过的时候提着一桶水母回到了村里。

It was a disappointing catch, and he said he felt the ocean had been particularly unkind that day.

这样的收获令人失望，他说他觉得那天晚上的大海尤其不友善。

Mr Wang crossed a beach riddled²⁴ with the remains²⁵ of crabs²⁶ and the skeletons of boats that had been abandoned long ago.

王新峰走过沙滩，上面布满了螃蟹的碎渣和被遗弃已久的船只的残骸。

He set down his bucket, looked to the horizon and said a prayer for the next day’s catch.

他放下桶，望向天际，祈祷明天能有个好收成。