A fishing moratorium has been imposed on the 1,000-km on the entire length of the Pearl River for the first time. The moratorium took effect on April 1 and will last two months.
The South Fisheries Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture announced that from April 1 through June 1, all commercial fishing activities will be banned in the basin of the Pearl River, which covers an area of 440,000 square kilometers in six provinces, including Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong, Hunan, and Jiangxi.
To compensate for the loss of business of fishermen in these provinces, local governments will provide subsidies to fishermen to ensure a basic standard of living. Authorities have also assured the public that fish supplies will not be affected as the Guangdong section of the Pearl River accounts for less than 10 percent of wild fish supply in the market, and that the prices of aquatic products are expected to hold steady.
(Translated by Guangzhou Association of Foreign Affairs Translators)
