Fishing boats return to Shipu Port in Xiangshan county, Ningbo to prepare for the annual fishing moratorium. [Photo by Chen Jiawen for Xiangshan Media Center]

A four-and-a-half-month fishing moratorium started on May 1 in the East China Sea, during which more than 4,000 fishing boats in Ningbo, Zhejiang province will be prohibited from entering the water.

The fishing moratorium is part of China's efforts to promote the sustainable development of fishing resources and is put in place annually.

Eight varieties of frozen or living marine products, including hairtails, pomfrets, yellow croakers, and mantis shrimps, will also be forbidden from being sold in the city from May 8 to Aug 1.  

Ningbo has also implemented restrictions on catching mackerels at the Xiangshan Port Mackerel Germplasm Resource Conservation Area this year.

The fishing ban in the area, which started on March 1 and will end on July 31, has been strictly enforced. To date, the local authorities have seized 120 illegal fishing vessels.