GUANGZHOU - A two-month fishing ban will take effect on Friday in South China's Pearl River as part of the country's effort to protect fishery resources, the Ministry of Agriculture said Thursday.

The ban, which will be carried out every year in April and May, covers 5,365 kilometers of waters, including the main stream of the river, its branches and all lakes connected to the branches.

Running through six provinces and autonomous regions, namely Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong, Hunan and Jiangxi, the Pearl River is the second largest river in China in terms of its run-off volume, following the Yangtze River to its north.

Fishery resources in the river have continued to drop in recent years due to excessive fishing and water degradation.

Wu Zhuang, an official in the Agriculture Ministry, said the ministry will release more than 6 million fish to the river to boost the fish population.

Additionally, local civil affairs bureaus will provide subsidies to low income fishermen during the period when the fishing ban is in effect.