Fishing would be gradually banned in all 332 nature reserves along China's Yangtze River from January to restore the ecosystem of the country's largest river.

The ban also applies to future nature reserves, said Zhao Yimin, deputy director of the Yangtze River Fishing Supervision and Administration Office under the Ministry of Agriculture.

The ban has won support from local governments along the river. Authorities will offer fishermen subsidies and vocational training to help them find new jobs, said Zhao.

In recent years, wildlife in the Yangtze has declined, leaving many species on the verge of extinction. The annual fish catch in the Yangtze is less than 100,000 tonnes.

The Chinese paddlefish and white-flag dolphins have not been seen in years and the Chinese sturgeon and finless porpoise are on the brink of extinction. The number of four species of carp has decreased by 97 percent from the levels in the 1950s.