A three-month fishing ban on the whole of Boyang Lake, the
largest freshwater lake in China, took effect from Tuesday, the
sixth consecutive year the ban has been enforced.
All fishing boats will be banned on the 333,000-hectare area of
the lake which is in east China's Jiangxi Province from March 20 to June 20.
"The ban aims to protect fishery resources at Boyang Lake as
March is the breeding season for crucian and carp," said Qian
Xin'e, deputy director of the Jiangxi Provincial Fishery
Administrative Bureau.
A partial fishing ban was first started in 1986 with the aim of
protecting the ecological environment and fishery resources. In
2002, the fishery administration imposed the ban on the whole
lake.
"Because of the strict supervision of the fishing area and the
prohibition of all fishing activities during the period, the
ecosystem has been greatly improved," Qian said.
Jiangxi provincial government has allocated 2.6 million yuan
(US$336,000) to subsidize registered fishermen and every fishing
license holder can get 350 yuan (US$45.2) in subsidies.
(Xinhua News Agency March 21, 2007)