China to impose annual fishing ban in Yellow River

China will ban fishing in the Yellow River between April 1 and June 30 every year starting from 2018, state-run news agency Xinhua reported on Monday, citing a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture.

It is the first time China’s government has banned fishing in the river.

The aim is to protect aquatic organisms and life in the Yellow River as excessive fishing threatens fishery resources. The ban would also be enforced across 13 tributaries and three major lakes, the report said.

China has introduced an annual fishing ban in the Yangtze River since 2002 and in the Pearl River since 2010. The Yellow River is the second-longest river in China after the Yangtze.

It originates in Qinghai province in the northwest and flows through central and northern parts of the country, including Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong provinces and the Inner Mongolia and Ningxia regions.