South China : Annual fishing ban ends

Haikou, Aug 16 (IANS)  Marking the end of fishing ban in the South China Sea this summer with a marine police guard, around 100 fishing vessels set out from south China's Hainan province on Wednesday.

The boats, departing from Yazhou Port in Sanya, will head to the waters of Beibu Gulf, Xisha and Nansha sea areas, the provincial Maritime and Fishery Department was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

A total of 18,000 fishing boats returned to Chinese ports from May 1 when the ban started, a record high for the past 19 years since China first enacted the annual fishing ban.

This year, the ban was extended to a total of three-and-half months. During this period, 92 cases of illegal fishing were reported, down by 30 per cent from last year, the Department said.