Police crack down on illegal Yangtze fishing
Shanghai police said on Wednesday that they had dealt with 36 illegal fishing cases related to resources in the Yangtze River since a 10-year fishing ban on the river came into effect at the beginning of the year.
The purpose of the ban was to protect fish in the river as long years of exploitation had significantly depleted stocks.
In one case, officers with the Border, Harbor and Waterway Police said they had discovered illegal fishing on the river earlier this month. A gang is alleged to have deposited its catch on Chongming Island before it was sold to fish markets in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.
Police said they caught two suspects on July 13 in a truck loaded with 96 boxes of fish weighing 1.6 tons.
Another suspect was later caught in Qidong, a city in Jiangsu Province.
Violators of the fishing ban face up to three years in prison.
Boats belonging to a gang suspected of illegal fishing on the Yangtze River.
