Dozens of Chinese boats are continuing to fish in waters around the Nansha islands, hoping to make a large haul during the brief 20 days of fishing season. But on the first day, the weather made things a bit difficult.

It was a sleepless night with high expectations for these fishermen who arrived off the Nansha Islands. Small amounts of fish could be seen as the boat sailed in the dark night. Everything was being closely monitored by the ship's captain.

Ling Hongqi, Captain, Hainan Province, said, "I can only see about 2 or 3 hundred kilos of fish from the monitor, but we need around 4,000 kilos today to cover our costs."

Dozens of Chinese boats are continuing to fish in waters around the Nansha islands, hoping to make a large haul during the brief 20 days of fishing season.

The fishing began at about nine o'clock at night, when crew members were ready to cast the first net into the 1000 meter deep sea. Even decades of experience would not work when the weather doesn't cooperate. All those years of knowledge will mean nothing. Crew members grew anxious as the trawls were pulled back. The outcome was disappointing, as expected.

Ling Hong qi also said, "It's only 300 kilos, crew members in other boats said their results were not good either, due to the wind and torrents."

The captain decided to call it a day ahead of schedule. He said his crew usually works until dawn if there is abundant fish. But the fishermen are still optimistic about tomorrow as they enjoy dinner, made up of seafood they caught after 2 hours' of hard work.