A fleet of 30 Chinese fishing vessels have arrived in waters around Yongshu Reef near the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea.

A fishery administration vessel is also there to protect their fishing. The fleet, organized voluntarily by fishermen, will spend about 10 days fishing near the Reef. The fishing fleet departed from the city of Sanya, Hainan province on Thursday.

It includes a 3,000-ton replenishment ship and 29 ships weighing in at more than 140 tons each, making the fishing fleet one of the largest to the Nansha Islands in the province’s history.