Fishing boats anchor at a port in the coastal city of Xiangshan in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/xstv.net]

More than 4,000 fishing boats from Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province will be prohibited from entering the water, as the annual summer fishing moratorium will start in the East China Sea on May 1.

The coast guard authority said the ban, which lasts for up to four and a half months, will be strictly enforced. 

Eight varieties of fish, including hairtail, yellow croaker, pomfret, mackerel, and blue crab, as well as other illegal catches, will be banned from sale in the city from May 8 to August 1. Those caught by anglers are excluded.

In the coastal county of Xiangshan in Ningbo, a total of 2,540 fishing boats had returned to ports as of 8:00 pm April 28.

The summer fishing ban is part of China's efforts to promote sustainable marine fishing and improve the marine environment.                     

Fishing boats anchor at a port in the coastal city of Xiangshan in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/xstv.net]