Fishing ban on Yangtze

An annual three-month fishing ban will start next month on the Yangtze River in order to preserve fish stocks, authorities said yesterday.

The ban, in place from April 1 to June 30, will also take effect on the Hanjiang River, a key tributary of the Yangtze that flows through Hubei Province, said officials with the government of the provincial capital of Wuhan.

All fishing activity and other actions that may threaten fish will be banned on the rivers during the period, while fishermen affected by the ban will receive subsidies. The government of Wuhan will release about 50 million fry into the rivers during the ban.

The seasonal ban has been in place since 2002 and is considered crucial for the protection of the Yangtze's fishery resources.