Yangtze fishing ban to be enhanced

Authorities vowed on Tuesday to maintain a harsh clampdown on illegal angling along the Yangtze River and uproot the underground network that produces banned fishing gear and sells the unlawful catch.

A decadelong moratorium on fishing was imposed on the country's longest river in 2021 with the aim of restoring its ecological health.

After three years, the fish population in the river has recovered markedly, but the moratorium still faces constant threats from illegal fishing, which is becoming "more concealed" and harder to detect, Tang Renjian, minister of agriculture and rural affairs, said at a news conference organized by the State Council Information Office in Beijing.