Members of the civilian committee, which convened in east China's Zhejiang Province, include delegates of fishermen, governmental officials and representatives of other voluntary organizations.

Committee head Zhang Songcai said the unit's ultimate task was to let every fisherman understand the idea that to protect the sea was to protect the future of mankind.

Constantly updated fishing gear had dramatically improved efficiency, but simultaneously caused the fast decline in marine resources, he said.

Fisherman Lin Yongfa, who initiated the movement with 20 colleagues on August 27, 2000, said that the days of coming back with a full load of yellow-fin tuna were over.

To improve the worsening situation, Lin and his fellow fishermen started to voluntarily release 100,000 fry into the sea before the annual fishing ban in June.

With the support of the local government and fishermen, a large breeding base for the yellow-fin tuna has been established on the Xiangshan Peninsula.

And their conservation concept has spread widely in the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China Seas.

On May 26, fishermen of the Xiangshan Peninsula attended the International Conference on Voluntary Services jointly launched by the United Nations and the Chinese Government.

This August, a letter was separately e-mailed to Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations, and the heads of 21 nations including the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Britain to appeal for worldwide efforts to protect the seas.

Now, as the annual fishing bans on both the East China and Yellow Seas are eased Monday, fishermen will set sail with the promise to release Chinese sturgeon and turtles who enter their nets by accident.

While preparing for the following day's fishing, Lin, as ever, bends over the deck, seeking for the "coo-coo" sound from the seabed, a long lost sound made by the yellow-fin tuna.

(Xinhua News Agency September 16, 2002)