Fish are jumping after a two-month summer fishing ban in the South China Sea gave them the time and environment to reproduce.

After the ban ended Aug. 1, sources from south China's Hainan Province said the total output of marine catches during the first 10 days increased to 25,000 tons, a value estimated at 153 million yuan (about US$18.43 million).

Notable increases in aquatic product yields were reported at fishing operations off the island province's eastern and western coast, said the local sources.

Fishing resources in the South China Sea, which contains one quarter of China's aquatic products, have dwindled because of overfishing in the past few years.

"The fishing ban provides fish a good growing environment and thanks to the ban, different kinds of fish propagate rapidly," said an owner of two trawlboats.

According to the trawlboat owner, he caught 12.5 tons of sea fish the first day the fishing ban was lifted, a record high in his native city of Wenchang.

He said that the total value of marine catches during the first week after the ban was lifted was 80,000 yuan (about US$9,638), and the average daily output value rose by 42.9 percent.

China adopted an absolute fishing ban in the East and Yellow seas in 1995. The moratorium promoted growth in both marine fish resources and in total aquatic products in related areas.

In 1999, China also initiated the first fishing ban in the South China Sea. The three previous bans showed encouraging results.

(Xinhua News Agency September 11, 2002)