China's Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) said that a two-month fishing ban in south China's Pearl River was initiated on Friday in an effort to protect the area's fishery resources.

The fishing ban will take effect from April 1 to June 1 of this year. It will apply to the main body of the Pearl River, as well as to all tributaries and lakes connected to it.

The ban will impact 27,693 fishing boats and 116,711 fishermen. Local civil affairs bureaus will provide subsidies to fishermen with low incomes during the time of the ban.

Crossing six provinces and autonomous regions, namely Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong, Hunan and Jiangxi, the Pearl River is the second largest river in China in terms of runoff volume, topped only by the Yangtze River.

Officials with the fishery bureau of the MOA said the ban is the second fishing ban to ever be imposed on China's rivers, and will play a significant role in protecting the area's fishery resources and ecology.The MOA implemented a fishing ban on the Yangtze River in 2003.