Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China, began a three-month fishing ban on Monday to protect the spawning of its fish in the spring.

The ban, which will end on June 20, is imposed on the entire lake, located in east China's Jiangxi Province, said the provincial fishing affairs administration.

 

Local fishing authorities will strengthen their surveillance on the banned water areas, aquatic product markets and restaurants, to crack down on any illegal fishing, according to the administration.

 

Meanwhile, local officials will also encourage fishermen near the lake to shift to other industries, to ensure their livelihood during the ban, it said.

 

Artificial breeding of fish will also be adopted to increase the number and species of fish in the lake, the administration added.

 

The lake, with an area of 330,000 hectares, boasts a wide variety of fish, such as catfish, snake headed fish, eel and its famous whitebait.

 

However, by the late 1980s, water pollution and excessive fishing had resulted in a gradual decrease of fish in the lake. Its area also shrank due to large-scale land reclamation nearby.

 

In 1986, the province began to impose bans on fishing in spring and winter for parts of the lake, to protect its fish resources.

 

From 2002, spring and winter bans have been imposed upon the whole lake, during which all fishing boats and tackle are forbidden.

 

The bans have proven effective in restoring fish resources and ecology in the lake over the past decade.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 21, 2006)