China achieves key results in 10-year fishing ban on Yangtze River

BEIJING -- China has achieved important results in advancing the work related to the 10-year fishing ban on the Yangtze River, promoting the protection of aquatic life, resettling fishermen who have given up fishing, and contributing to ecological conservation, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Wednesday.

The ministry, in collaboration with relevant departments, has rolled out assistance measures to secure the livelihoods of former fishermen. By the end of September, all 142,000 fishermen who have the ability and willingness to work have been reemployed, and all 220,000 eligible fishermen have been enrolled in the endowment insurance scheme.

With strengthened protection and restoration efforts, the aquatic biodiversity of the Yangtze River has continued to see improvements. In 2025, more than 970,000 Chinese sturgeons were released, with more than 60 percent of individuals already entering the ocean through the Yangtze River estuary.

China has also promoted the restoration of important and key habitats, strictly managed the protected areas of aquatic germplasm resources, and carried out restocking in a scientific manner, according to the ministry.

To improve biodiversity along the Yangtze, China imposed a full fishing ban in 332 conservation areas of the river basin in January 2020. Protection measures were later expanded to a 10-year moratorium along the river's main streams and major tributaries, a ban which took effect on Jan. 1, 2021.