A three-month fishing ban went into effect Thursday on Dongting Lake, one of China's largest freshwater lakes, in the central province of Hunan.  

All trawlers and fishing boats are banned in the entire lake as well as its four major tributaries through June, according to a local fishery official.

The province has decided to strictly supervise the fishing area and prohibit all fishing activities during this period, said the official, who didn't give his name.

He said the ban aims to protect marine resources from over-fishing and pollution which in the past 10 years had significantly depleted marine resources and caused a decline in the output of aquatic products.

Dongting Lake is China's second largest freshwater lake and one of the leading tributaries of the Yangtze River in its middle reaches.

A fishing ban started on Poyang Lake, the country's largest freshwater lake, on March 20.

The two lakes next to the Yangtze have been included in a governmental campaign to ban fishing in order to protect the water environment and increase fish stocks in the Yangtze.

A ban is in effect from Feb. 1 to April 30 on the Yangtze's upper reaches from the southwestern Yunnan Province to the central Hubei Province, and covers the lower reaches from Hubei to Shanghai between April 1 and June 30.

The measure would affect 100,000 people in 10 provinces and regions, including 50,000 engaged in full-time fishing.

The Chinese government would assist fishermen with subsidies and other measures to minimize their loss of earnings, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

The ban coincides with the spring season when the fish spawn.

(Xinhua News Agency April 1, 2004)