China plans to set up 20 artificial reefs stocked with 50,000 porgy (or sea bream) fry offshore from Sanya City, in Hainan Province, to protect and boost local fishery resources.
According to the island's marine and fishing departments, the measure will improve the local marine environment and make it more suitable for the breeding of fish.
They said that the reefs would not only provide better shelter and food for fish but could also reduce the practice of trawling.
Made of reinforced steel bars and concrete, each rectangular reef weighs 4.5 tons.
(Xinhua News Agency, August 5, 2002)
