East China's Jiangxi Province is pouring 50 million fries into Poyang Lake, the country's biggest freshwater lake, stage by stage in a bid to increase the fish stocks.

"The scheme started at the end of May and will end by June 15. By then all the 50 million fries of silver carp, variegated carp and grass carp will have been put into the lake," said an official with the provincial fishery department.

The Poyang Lake, covering 330,000 hectares, has a wealth of aquatic species and attracts many rare migratory birds. It is also a major provider of freshwater aquatic products for the country.

But in recent years, the lake experienced overfishing, water pollution and illegal sand-digging. The polluting industries surrounding the lake have also posed threats to its ecological environment.

Consequently, the number of fish is on decline and the size of fish gets smaller. Last year, the administration reported a year-on-year decrease of 50 percent in the fishing capacity.

The Jiangxi Province has imposed its sixth fishing ban on the lake from March 20 to June 20 this year since 2002, in the hope of protecting the ecological environment of the lake and ensuring the sustainable development of the local fishing industry.

(Xinhua News Agency June 11, 2007)