Fishing boats return to the fishing port in the morning in Qionghai City, south China's Hainan Province, Aug. 17, 2017. The fishing season of the South China Sea started on Wednesday after this summer's fishing ban. (Xinhua/Meng Zhongde)
Authorities in South China's Hainan Province said that China's annual fishing moratorium in the South China Sea ended on Wednesday, with tens of thousands of fishing boats resuming fishing activity.
The three-and-a-half-month fishing moratorium in 2017 began on May 1 and ended at 12 am on Wednesday, according to the Hainan provincial government's website.
This year's fishing moratorium was one month longer than that of previous years to further preserve the marine environment and fishing resources, China's Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) said.
The MOA adjusted its fishing order in January, which covers the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and waters 12 degrees north of the South China Sea, and suspended all types of fishing activity starting 12 am on May 1.
The Hainan Province initially identified the Nandu River, the Wanquan River, the Changhua River as the areas where fishing activity would be suspended beginning March 1 and ending on June 30, according to the Hainan government, adding that all fishing activity, except for entertainment fishing, are banned during the period.
Over 18,000 boats, 66,000 sailors and 260,000 fishermen in the province were affected by the fishing moratorium in 2017, Hainan government said on its website.
The fishing moratorium in the East China Sea ended on August 1, almost two weeks earlier than in the South China Sea, xinhuanet.com reported.
Japan has been cautious about Chinese fishing boats, which Japanese media suspected as a cover for Chinese military ships, the Nikkei Asian Review reported in August 2016.
China vowed to reduce quotas and reduce the fishing fleet to protect marine ecosystems in 2016.
