East China's Zhejiang Province has taken legal measures to control the number of fishing ships in local ports to protect ocean resources.
Issued on December 28, the first set of local regulations of their kind in China will impose restrictions on new boats to be used in the area.
Under the regulations, new boats cannot go into operation before the same number of old ones have been taken out of use, and shipyards cannot build new boats with greater power than the old ones they are replacing.
The local regulations set up a system whereby fishing boats that cannot sail any more should be scrapped, either being dismantled or used as artificial reefs for ocean fish.
The regulations also encourage private investment in the development of fishing ports by granting investors the right to use and manage the ports.
Zhejiang is an important coastal province in China and has a bigger fish output than any other province. Of the total production value of agriculture and fishing in Zhejiang, fishing accounts for 29 percent.
Zhejiang has 243 ports and more than 42,000 fishing boats are used off its coast.
(Xinhua News Agency January 7, 2003)
