Vessels anchor in Batou Township of Denghai District in Shantou, south China's Guangdong Province, May 15, 2012. China will soon impose a routine fishing ban in northern parts of the South China Sea, authorities announced Monday. The fishing ban will last from May 16 to August 1, covering areas north of the 12th parallel of north latitude, including Huangyan Island but excluding most of the Nansha Islands, according to a spokesman from the South China Fishery Administration Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture. [Xinhua photo]