The letter was also e-mailed to Koichjiro Matsuura, director-general of UNESCO, Sharon Capeling Alakija, general coordinator of the United Nations volunteer organization, and government leaders of 21 maritime countries.

Huang Genbao, Lin Yongfa and Xi Haihong, who live on the Xiangshan peninsula in the East China Sea, wrote on behalf of all Chinese fishermen, "We hope that protection of the seas (and sea life) will become a sacred mission with the increasing awareness of all mankind."

They hold that the seas were the cradle of life and the hope of humanity's future. However, they acknowledged, blind and disorderly development in recent years had caused serious pollution, adversely affecting the marine ecology and causing deterioration of marine resources.

"As fishers, we feel profoundly that the 'ageing' process of our mother sea has been intensified," they said, "so we have gave away our fishing tools that are destructive to immature fish and other young marine life, and release our catches back into the sea whenever and wherever we catch them."

The fishermen said they had appealed to the fishery administration departments in China to prolong a fishing ban and their proposal had eventually been accepted and put into effect.

It has been learned that the office of the Canadian prime minister has officially responded to the three fishermen's call, and appreciated them for their actions to protect seas and oceans.

Xiangshan peninsula is dubbed as "China's vast fish pond" for its plentiful fish resources.

Earlier, local officials noted, 21 fishermen in Xiangshan founded China's first volunteer organization in August 2000 in an effort to better protect the seas and oceans around the world.

(People's Daily August 11, 2002)