Fresh deep-sea catches will be served at Zhuhai dinner tables as soon as Aug 19, three days after an annual South China Sea fishing ban expires.

In total, 918 Zhuhai fishing boats and 923 registered vessels from Hong Kong and Macao are back on the sea. Meanwhile, the first inshore catches are available.

Fishing boats back in business [Photo by Wu Changfu / Guanhai App]

According to Fan Linjie, general manager of Zhuhai Hongwan Central Fishing Port Development, a fresh market will open near Gate 3 of the fishing port this year. It will offer one-stop services from purchases to processing and catering. Opened last December, the port is located south of the Zhuhai Bridge at the junction of the Modaomen and Maliuzhou waterways across from Macao.

The fishing ban in the South China Sea, begun in 1999, protects the ocean's ecosystem and biodiversity from excessive fishing.

During the three-and-a-half-month moratorium, local fishery authorities sent 532 vessels, 17 vehicles, and 3,360 staff on patrol trips, during which 3,775 fishing boats were inspected, 247 violations were handled, and 132 illegal fishing vessels as well as 80,000 m (87,490 yd) of illegal fishing nets were seized.

In addition, six training sessions and emergency drills on fishery safety were provided to a thousand fishermen by local Agriculture & Rural Affairs and fishery authorities who also organized fish fry release activities.