Two ports on Poyang Lake, China's largest freshwater lake in the eastern province of Jiangxi, started an annual fishing ban for six months as of noon Monday, according to local fishery authorities.

Poyang Lake is one of China's major habitats for wild freshwater fish.?[File photo]

To sustain the lake's fishery resources, fishing has been banned in an area of 30,000 mu (2,000 hectares) around two ports under the jurisdiction of Yugan County and Poyang County. The ban will last until April next year.

The fishing band plays a significant role in the protection of the lake's fishery resources. Areas around the lake's six ports are zoned as potential areas for the ban, with two of the six chosen for the ban each year.

As Poyang Lake has been suffering from continuous shrinking due to this year's lingering drought, the area specified for the fishing ban has been narrowed from 50,000 mu to the present 30,000 mu, the local fishery bureau said.

Poyang Lake covers 3,583 square km with an average water depth of 8.4 meters. It is fed by five rivers in Jiangxi and empties into the lower reaches of China's longest river, the Yangtze River. The lake is one of China's major habitats for wild freshwater fish.