China's annual summer fishing moratorium ended at noon on Saturday, with more than 3,400 fishing boats departing from Yangjiang City of south China's Guangdong Province in the first day, the largest number of vessels in recent years.
The three-and-a-half-month ban, which began in May, was imposed to protect marine resources during peak spawning season. As of Friday noon, the moratorium was lifted in the South China Sea and parts of the East China Sea.
At the national central fishing port of Zhapo in Yangjiang, a steam whistle at noon signaled the official start of the season. To mitigate the high density of vessels, local authorities imposed temporary traffic controls from 10:00 to 14:00, restricting commercial ships while giving fishing vessels priority.
Due to similar reasons, ferry services in Qiongzhou Strait have also been suspended from Saturday night to Sunday morning for fishing vessels from south China's Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan.
Despite the excitement of the fishing season, ecological protection remains a priority. Regulations in the South China Sea require net mesh sizes no smaller than 35 millimeters to prevent the capture of juvenile fish, while some regions are also experimenting with biodegradable fishing gear to further safeguard the marine environment.
Fishing vessels set sail to welcome end of fishing moratorium
