Update | China to crack down on illegal tourism in Paracel Islands

The authorities have pledged to crack down on "illegal tourist activity" after photographs were posted online of visitors fishing for endangered species off the Paracel Islands, a disputed area of the South China Sea.

The pictures show Chinese tourists posing with red coral, thresher sharks and other fish, the China News Service reported.

Feng Wenhai, the deputy mayor of Sansha , responded to the pictures by saying that a taskforce of police, national security agencies and the coastguard would target illegal tourism boats operating in the area.

Other officials and fishermen would also carry out patrols to search for such boats, Feng said.

A tour operator in Hainan province who arranges trips to the Paracel Islands told the South China Morning Post that tourists who wanted to go fishing often chartered illegal boats costing much more than authorised cruises.

"They need to find their own charter vessels and gather enough people as the cost is quite high, normally tens of thousands of yuan," he said.