FAO Fisheries Circular No. 950 FIRM/C950

ISSN0429-9329 MARINE RESOURCES, THEIR STATUS OF EXPLOITATION AND MANAGEMENT IN THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

FAO Fisheries Circular No. 950 FIRM/C950 MARINE RESOURCES, THEIR STATUS OF EXPLOITATION AND MANAGEMENT IN THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Weizhong Chen East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute Shanghai People’s Republic of China FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 1999

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PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT

The People’s Republic of China has been in the top list of world fish producers since the nineties. China has also joined the world distant-water fishing nations to conduct fishing in the high seas of the world oceans. Information on Chinese fisheries is, however, not readily available especially for the non-Chinese speaking readers owing to the limited number of published reports in English. This document was prepared in response to such a need for the benefit of global interest. This document was prepared by Mr Weizhong Chen, Deputy Chief of the East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute in Shanghai. Mr Chen worked in Rome in July/August 1997 under the FAO Programme of Cooperation with Academic and Research Institution, during which time he worked closely with Dr Purwito Martosubroto of the Marine Resources Service of the Fishery Resources Division (FIRM).

Chen, Weizhong Marine resources, their status of exploitation and management in the People’s Republic of China. FAO Fisheries Circular. No. 950. Rome, FAO. 1999. 60p.

ABSTRACT

Marine capture fisheries have developed very quickly in the past decade as reflected by the rapid increase in the number of fishing vessels. Total fishing effort has grown from 42,779 vessels in 1975 to 273,978 in 1995 or in terms of horsepower from 2,150,000 kW to 9,801,000 kW. Meanwhile total catch increased from 2,773,000 tonnes to 10,268,000 tonnes during the same period. Due to the continued increase in fishing effort, some important fish stocks (except for some pelagic species and squids) are in serious threat. Most of the stocks experienced both “growth” and “recruitment” overfishing. The species composition of catches has shown some changes associated with the increase in catch. The number of species of low trophic level (e.g. mackerels, anchovies, and shrimps) and other immature fish has risen in recent years. Various management measures have been introduced including the licensing scheme, protection (conservation) area and closed season. Yet, fisheries management still faces immense challenges. Those include low-level of awareness of management concept among stakeholders, weakness in law enforcement and inadequate funds for fisheries research in support of management.

___________________________________________________________________________ The FAO Fisheries Circular is a vehicle for distribution of short or ephemeral notes, lists, etc., including provisional versions of documents to be issued later in other series.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Mr Chen wishes to extend his gratitude to various individuals who had provided assistance directly or indirectly during preparation of the work. Those include gratefulness to Mr Guo Nanling, the Director of the East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute (CSFRI) in Shanghai and Mr Zheng Yuanjia, Chief of the Fisheries Resources Division of the same Institute, who both continued giving support while the author conducted a review study in Rome. Similar appreciation and gratitude is extended to Dr S.M. Garcia, Director of the Fisheries Resources Division (FIR) of the FAO Fisheries Department for the encouragement during his work in Rome and in particular to Dr P. Martosubroto, Fishery Resources Officer, Marine Resources Service, Fishery Resources Division, for his continued assistance in the completion of the work. Finally, deepest appreciation goes to Dr Luca Garibaldi, Consultant in Fishery Statistics Group, Fishery Information, Data and Statistics Unit (FIDI) for his collaboration in reviewing the scientific names according to the most recent taxonomical terms used. NOTE: The scientific name of species employed in this paper uses the most recent classification used by FAO.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT 1

1.1 Geographic Environment 1 1.2 Natural Environment 1

1.2.1 Bottom topography and sediments 1 1.2.2 Oceanography 1 1.2.3 Meteorology 2

2 FISHERIES 2

2.1 An Overview of Marine Capture Fisheries 2 2.2 Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea Fishery 4 2.3 East China Sea Fishery 5 2.4 South China Sea Fishery 6

3 FISHERIES RESOURCES 8

3.1 General Features 8 3.2 Large Head Hairtail, Trichiurus lepturus 9 3.3 Filefish, Thamnaconus septentrionalis 10 3.4 Large Yellow Croaker, Larimichthys crocea 11 3.5 Yellow Croaker, Larimichthys polyactis 11 3.6 Chub Mackerel, Scomber japonicus 12 3.7 Japanese Spanish Mackerel, Scomberomorus niphonius 13 3.8 Japanese Scad, Decapterus maruadsi 14 3.9 Japanese Anchovy, Engraulis japonicus 15 3.10 Prawns 16 3.11 Cephalopods 17

3.11.1 Cuttlefish 17 3.11.2 Squids 17

4 POLLUTION AND ITS IMPACT ON FISHERIES 18

4.1 Overview 18 4.2 Pollution 18

4.2.1 Water quality in the Bohai and Yellow Seas 19 4.2.2 Contamination of marine organisms 19 4.2.3 Ecological impacts of contaminants 19

5 LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK OF FISHERIES MANAGEMENT 20

5.1 Historical Background 20 5.2 Legal and Institutional Framework 21

5.2.1 Fisheries management and its mechanism 21 5.2.2 Management support 22 5.2.3 Management measures 23

6 REFERENCES 26

FIGURES 29

TABLES 34

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APPENDIX I 51

List of Major Fishery Laws and Regulations 51

APPENDIX II 54

Fishing Regulations for the East China Sea, Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea for 1993 to 1997 54

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1 PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT 1.1 Geographic Environment China is located in East Asia, with marine areas to the east and south. There are 4 main seas from south to north: South China Sea, East China Sea, Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea. Of the total sea area of about 4,727,000 km2, South China Sea makes up about 3,500,000 km2, East China Sea 770,000 km2, Yellow Sea 380,000 km2 and Bohai Sea 77,000 km2. The coastline of mainland China is more than 180,000 km long while the continental shelf area is about 374,000 km2 (see Figure 1). There are more than 5,000 islands with a total coastline of 140,000 km. About 20% of the islands are located in the northern area to the mouth of Yangtze River, with the remainder in the southern area. A large number of harbours and bays are spread along the coastline. From north to south, the most important bays include Liaodong Bay, Bohai Bay, Laizhou Bay, Dalian Bay, Haizhou Bay, Hangzhou Bay, Sanmen Bay, Taizhou Bay, Leqing Bay, Wenzhou Bay, Funing Bay, Sanduao Bay, Luoyuan Bay, Haitan Bay, Xinghua Bay, Quanzhou Bay, Tongshan Bay, Liaoluo Bay, Zhelin Bay, Heshi Bay, Daya Bay, Sanya Bay and Beihai Bay. There are about 700 fishing harbours, of which 300 are important, including Dalian, Haiyangdao, Qinghuangdao, Tiajin, Tanggu, Yantai, Qingdao, Lianyungang, Liuhe, Shanghai, Ninbo, Shenjiamen, Shipo, Quanzhou, Xiamen, Dongshan, Shantou, Guangzhou, Sanya, Baimajin, Beihai, Jilong, Hualian, Xingang. 1.2 Natural Environment 1.2.1 Bottom topography and sediments The Bohai Sea is nearly an enclosed sea with an overall average depth of 18 m, with more than half of the area less than 20 m deep. The sediments mainly consist of soft mud and fine sand in the shallow area near bays and rough sand in the central area. The Yellow Sea is also relatively shallow; two-thirds of the area is less than 60 m deep. Its bottom mainly consists of soft and sandy mud. The East China Sea has an average depth of 72 m, with bottom sediment largely consisting of sand. Two main types of sand can be distinguished at the 50-60 m isobath: to the west of this isobath, sediment consists of soft mud and silt owing to discharge from surrounding rivers; to the east it consists of fine sands from deposits of ancient coastline. The South China Sea is a rather deep area, with an average depth of 1,212 m and a deepest area of 5,559 m in the northwest area near Polu. The sediment consists of sand, which is rough in the nearshore area and becomes fine in the central area. 1.2.2 Oceanography The oceanography of the China Seas has a major influence on the abundance and distribution of living marine resources throughout the area. The Yellow Sea and South China Sea are basically semi-enclosed seas. The distributions of the isoline of temperature and salinity are normally parallel with the isobathic line. Temperature and salinity are normally lower in inshore areas and higher in offshore, and also lower in the north and higher in the south. The distribution of temperature and salinity are homogeneous in the winter but with strong thermos- and haloclines in the summer.

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The offshore waters of Yellow Sea and East China Sea are mainly affected by the northward Kuroshio current and characterized by high temperature and salinity. The South China Sea warm waters and the warm waters of the Kuroshio branch mainly affect the offshore area of South China Sea. The coastal waters are mixed waters of river discharges and offshore waters, and are generally characterized by low salinity, large horizontal gradients of temperature and salinity, and large annual variations in flow rates and direction. Major currents affecting the China Seas are coastal currents and the Kuroshio current. The Kuroshio and its branches (except the South China Sea branch) flow northward all year round, while the coastal currents generally flow southward. Affected by these currents, local circulation is formed in different parts of the seas. 1.2.3 Meteorology The China Sea region experiences strong seasonal climatic variation associated with the summer and winter monsoons. Precipitation falls largely in the spring and summer with more than 70% of the annual precipitation. In the winter, ice will appear in some areas of the Bohai and Yellow Seas. The South China Sea is, on the other hand, characterized by the tropical climate with no winter season. Meanwhile the East China Sea is very much affected by the Kuroshio Current and has a sub-tropical climate. 2 FISHERIES 2.1 An Overview of Marine Capture Fisheries Fisheries in China have developed very fast over the last decade. Total fishery production increased from 8,000,063 tonnes in 1986 to 24,443,321 tonnes in 1995 or by a multiplication factor of more than 3. Marine capture fisheries provided the largest contribution with a range of 42.0% to 48.7% of total fishery production and between 71.3% and 79.8% of total marine fishery production. Most of the marine catches are taken from the four seas mentioned above. Total marine catches and catches from different seas since 1979 are listed in Table 1. Total marine catches increased from 2,773,000 tonnes in 1979 to 10,268,000 tonnes in 1995 or by a factor of 3.7. Among the four seas, the East China Sea contributed the largest proportion to total marine catches. In 1979, catches from the East China Sea represented the highest percentage of total catch (48.4%), subsequently dropping to 42.6% in 1995. Catches from the South China Sea rose from third place in 1979 to second place in 1995 (23.2%). Catches from the Yellow Sea showed a slight decline in terms of the percentage of total catch from 21.8% to 16.6%, while catches from the Bohai Sea presented the lowest percentage both in 1979 and in 1995 (about 10%). The increase in catch varied among the different seas. The East China Sea showed the highest increase in quantity (3,036,000 tonnes) and occupied the second place in terms of annual increase rate (7.8%); the South China Sea, on the other hand, represented the highest percentage increase (10.4%) and the second place in terms of quantity (1,981,000 tonnes). Catches from other seas, including those by the distant-water fishing fleet, which developed after 1985, have shown a rapid increase in recent years.

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The most common fishing gears used in China are trawls, particularly pair bottom trawl. Beam trawls targeting for shrimps have developed rapidly in the middle and northern part of East China Sea in the last decade. Set nets and traps are also common, particularly in the coastal shallow waters. Catches from this type of gear contributed 18.0% - 25.5% to the fish catch after 1983. The catches usually consist of small sized fish and large numbers of juveniles of the commercially important species. Catches by different fishing gear types since 1979 are listed in Table 2. Catches from trawlers increased from 35.8% of the total catch in 1979 to 51.2% in 1995 and occupy first place. Catches from set nets and drift gill nets also showed a remarkable increase, occupying second and third place respectively. Though angling catches increased, their contribution was still very low. Catches from purse seines showed a slight fluctuation of around 500,000 tonnes, but their percentage of total marine catch dropped from around 20% in the early 1980s to only about 5% in the 1990s. The major commercially important species or species groups are large head hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus), yellow croaker (Larimichthys polyactis), large yellow croaker (L. croceus), filefish (Thamnaconus septentrionalis and T. hypargyreus), Japanese scad (Decapterus maruadsi), Japanese anchovy (Engraulis japonicus), chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus), Japanese Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus niphonius), golden threadfin (Nemipterus virgatus and N. bathybius), pomfrets (Pampus spp), blue crab (Portunus trituberculatus), Daggertooth pike conger (Muraenesox cinereus), Chinese herring (Ilisha elongata) and various species of shrimps. Total catches of major commercial species since 1979 are listed in Tables 3.1 and 3.2. The most notable change was the increase of hairtail (T. lepturus) in recent years. The catch of the hairtail dropped to its lowest level below 400,000 tonnes at the end of 1980’s, but reached its highest level of 1,040,000 tonnes in 1995. The second notable change was the increase in catches of mackerels and scads (with main species of Japanese scad, D. maruadsi and chub mackerel, and S. japonicus). The catch of this group was only 205,405 tonnes in 1979, increasing to 887,000 tonnes in 1995. Catches of the large yellow croaker (L. crocea) declined sharply too less than 20,000 tonnes in the late 1970s and early 1980s and has increased ever since. The reason for the increase is not well understood. Catch of the yellow croaker (L. polyactis) dropped to its lowest level of below 20,000 tonnes at the end of 1980s, but has increased dramatically in recent years and reached 153,000 tonnes in 1995. The rise of the catch was largely caused by the increase in fishing pressure, resulting in large catches of juvenile fish. On the other hand, catches of the filefish (greenfin filefish, Thamnaconus septentrionalis and yellowfin filefish, T. hypargyreus) and Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) showed a remarkable decline. The greenfin filefish was once the most important target species of the state-owned fishing companies, collapsed in the early 1990s due to overfishing. In recent years catch of this group is mainly composed of yellowfin filefish, T. hypargyreus. The rapid rise in marine catches has been largely brought about by the significant increase in fishing effort both in terms of number of fishing vessel and engine power (Table 4). The number of fishing vessels and total engine power increased respectively from 42,779 and 2,150,000 kW in 1979 to 273,978 and 9,801,000 kW in 1995 or by a respective factor of 6.4 and 4.6, which represents a much higher increase than that of total catch. However, the number of

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non-powered fishing vessels declined from 120,049 in 1979 to 40,783 in 1995 or by a factor of 0.3. Catches from non-powered fishing vessels also declined from about 30% of the total catch to only 5% during the same period. With continued increase in both the number and total engine power of fishing vessels, fisheries resources, particularly the coastal demersal species have been subject to high fishing pressure and catches have consequently decreased. Overfishing has meant that catches are now made up of lower trophic level species and immature juveniles. With the continued decline in catches of coastal marine fisheries resources, distant-water fishing developed rapidly in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The China National Fishing Cooperation was the pioneer in this venture, launching the first distant-water fishing operations in the coastal waters of West Africa in 1985. In 1986, large trawling vessels with processing facilities were introduced by Yantai, Dalian, Qingdao and Shanghai Marine Fishing Companies. The major fishing area was northwest Pacific, with Alaska pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) as the main target species. In 1988, China started to launch tuna fishing in the South Pacific, and in 1989 the Chinese fleet started squid fishing in the Japan Sea and the North Pacific. The total catch from distant fishing fleets increased rapidly from 19,894 tonnes in 1986 to 856,795 tonnes in 1995 or by a factor of 46.1. Percentages of the catch landed in the domestic market varied between 18.9% to 40.1%. The number of fishing vessels increased from 25 in 1986 to 869 vessels in 1995, a factor of 34.8 (see Table 5). Catches were mainly composed of Alaska pollack (T. chalcogramma), marbled sole (Limanda yokohamae), yellow croakers (Sciaenidae) in the 1980s, while codfishes (Gadidae), hairtails (Trichiurius spp.), anchovies (Engraulidae), cephalopods, tuna (Thunnus spp.) and flounders (Pleuronectidae) were predominant in the catches of the 1990s. 2.2 Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea Fishery The Bohai and Yellow Seas were once the most important fishing areas in China. Total catches from these two seas showed an increasing trend and represented 56.3% of total marine catch in 1950; however this percentage dropped to 37.6% in 1960 and even below 30% in the 1980s. Demersal species, e.g. yellow croaker (L. polyactis), large yellow croaker (L. crocea), large head hairtail (T.lepturus), flounders and sea breams, dominated catches in the 1950s and 60s. Japanese Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus niphonius) and Chinese prawn (Penaeus chinensis) were also prevalent species before the 1970s. However, as a result of overfishing and pollution from the 1970s, catches of demersal species, Spanish mackerel and Chinese prawn declined dramatically and some species virtually disappeared. The increased trend in catches in recent years has been accompanied by a change in catch composition. The Japanese anchovy (Engraulis japonicus), chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus), jellyfish (Rhopilema esculenta) and small shrimps (mainly Acetes chinensis) are now the major species in the catches. The total horsepower of vessels from these two seas increased from an average of 96,802 kW in the 1960s to an average of 384,639 kW in the 1970s and to 1,980,344 kW in 1995 or an increase by a factor of 3.9 and 20.5 during the same period. However, the corresponding

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rises in total catch were only 1.9 and 6.1 respectively, indicating a significant decline in the catch per unit effort (Table 6 and Figure 5). The catch per unit effort (CPUE) dropped from 4,516 kg/kW in the 1960s to 2,232 kg/kW in the 1970s and to 1,012-1,343 kg/kW in the 1980s and 90s. Based on total catches and total fishing effort (in terms of HP), Tang Q.S. et al (1988) estimated that the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) for the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea combined was 1,030,000 tonnes with the corresponding fishing power of 1,040,000 HP (764,400 kW). Comparing these figures to total catch in 1995 (2,660,270 tonnes) and total effort (1,980,344 kW), there is no doubt that fisheries resources in these two seas have been largely overfished. 2.3 East China Sea Fishery The East China Sea is the most productive fishing area in China with total production of 4,819,046 tonnes in 1995, or about 42.6% of the total marine catch. Commercial catches increased annually from 560,000 tonnes in the 1950s, when commercial record was first available, to more than 4,800,000 tonnes in 1995. The increase in catches was largely brought about by the rise in the number of vessels and the expansion of fishing area. Total catches and the catches of the major commercial species are listed in Table 7. In the 1950s, practically all vessels were wooden and sail powered. In the 1960s, engines were widely introduced, mostly in the 40 to 80 HP ranges. Engine power increased to 120-180 HP in the 1970s and towards 250 HP in the 1980s. Today most state-owned vessels are in the 600 HP range. At the same time, the number of fishing vessels and total engine power increased dramatically. In the 1960s, the average number and the total engine power of fishing vessel were only 4,333 and 396,000 kW respectively. These respective figures had increased to 11,989 and 957,000 kW in the 1970s and to 114,010 and 5,192,000 kW in 1995. Fishing operations were mostly conducted in inshore waters in the 1950s and 60s. With the decline in catches from inshore waters and the increase in fishing vessel size, fishing activities expanded to offshore waters and deep-sea area in the 1970s. While the number and the power of fishing fleets in the early 1990s in the East China Sea were respectively 24.2 and 9.8 times higher than in the 1960s, catches only increased by a factor of 3.7. Meanwhile, the catch per effort (kg per kW) dropped by a factor of around 3 (Figure 6). Along with the increased number of fishing vessels in the East China Sea, the types of fishing gears had also changed (see Table 8). In the 1950s, fishing gears were mainly the seines, drift gillnet, setnets, angling and some pair trawls. The catch of these gears accounted for 90% of the total catch. Most fishing targeted single species such as hairtail, cuttlefish, large yellow croaker and small yellow croaker in the defined areas and seasons. The state-owned vessels whose catch amounted to between 2 and 7 % of total catch only conducted multi-species trawling. In the 1960s, the increase in both the number and power of vessels coupled with the deployment of light purse seine meant that the proportion of mixed species caught by trawlers and seines also rose. Meanwhile, trawling developed further in the 1970s and 80s. Apart from the change in the numbers and composition of the gears used, fishing patterns also changed. Set nets are no longer confined to inshore, but have been increasingly deployed in depths of 80 m and below with catches mainly composed of small juveniles. Trawling is no longer confined to particular fishing grounds or seasons.

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While commercial catches have increased annually, there has been a dramatic change in the species composition of the catch, with some species (e.g. large yellow croaker and filefish) virtually disappearing. Catches of the high quality large yellow croaker, small yellow croaker, hairtail, pomfret and Chinese herring represented 51% of the catches in the 1960s, dropping to 46% in the 1970s, 18% in the 1980s and only 12% in 1991/92. Meanwhile, catches of low trophic level species (mackerels, round scads, and some pelagic shrimps) and unspecified species in the catch increased rapidly. For instance, catches of chub mackerel round scads, shrimps and crabs increased from 289,00 tonnes (20%) in 1980 to 1,356,000 tonnes (28%) in 1995. Catches of unspecified species increased from below 30% in the early 1980s to more than 40% in the early 1990s. In 1995, the catch was 1,841,600 tonnes or about 38.2% of total catch. Besides the change in species composition, there has been a marked decline in the number of mature adult fish of the principal species with immature fish making up most of the catch. Catch per unit effort (CPUE) has decreased. The average catch per kW was 2,259 kg/kW in the 1960s, dropping to 1,358 kg/kW in the 1970s and again to below 1,000 kg/kW in the 1980s and 90s (Table 9 and Figure 6). On the basis of primary productivity data, Yang J.M. (1985) estimated that the MSY for East China Sea was 1,688,000 tonnes. On the basis of Schaefer model, Zhao W.B. (1997) estimated that the MSY was 2,793,200 tonnes with a corresponding fishing effort of 2,956,200 HP (2,172,800 kW), much lower than the current total power of 5,192,000 kW. Taking into account the decline in the average trophic level of the total catch, Qiu S.Y. (1997) estimated that potential fish production in the East China Sea in recent years was 6,161,883 tonnes with MSY of 3,080,941 tonnes. This estimate was derived from the analysis of the primary production data and the average trophic level of the total catch. 2.4 South China Sea Fishery The South China Sea has become more and more important in recent years with the decline of catches (in terms of percentage) in the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea. Total catch from the South China Sea increased rapidly from the late 1980s, accounting for a gradual increase in terms of its contribution to total Chinese marine catches. Fisheries development came later in this area compared with other seas. The engine-powered vessel was introduced in 1953 with only 4 boats for a total power of 810 HP; by 1995, there were 73,865 vessels for a total engine power of 2,628,058 kW. Catches increased steadily in the 1950s and 60s, but fluctuated wildly in the 1970s: for example, catches in 1977 were 833,000 tonnes, dropping to only 476,000 tonnes in 1979. Catches in the 1980s increased rapidly again; however CPUE remained low and continued for many years (see Table 10). Chen G.M. (1994) suggested that fishery development in the South China Sea could be summarized into 3 different periods in accordance with the increase of total catch and fishing vessels both in number and total power:

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• Before 1955, fisheries developed rapidly. Catches increased from 80,000 tonnes in 1950 to

425,000 tonnes in 1955 (a factor of 4.3). The average annual increase rate in total catches was 33.9% during this period. The number of non-powered boat increased from 22,482 in 1950 to 47,760 in 1955. The number of powered boats, introduced in 1953, increased immediately and reached 162 in 1955.

• In the period 1956-1979, catches fluctuated greatly. Catch increased from 414,000 tonnes in

1956 to 832,000 tonnes in 1977, dropping to 476,000 tonnes in 1979. Powered vessels developed rapidly in this period: there were 567 in 1955 for a total power of 16,144 kW; in 1979, the number of vessels had risen to 7,091 for a total of 459,200 kW (a respective increase of 11.3 and 27.4). However, the number of non-powered boats dropped from 50,201 in 1956 to 34,709 in 1979.

• Since 1979, catches increased rapidly from 542,000 tonnes in 1980 to 2,452,958 tonnes in

1995, with an average annual increase rate of 10.6%. The number of non-powered boat witnessed little change at around 3,000. The number and total power of engine powered vessels increased rapidly from 9,295 and 550,000 kW in 1980 to 73,865 and 2,628,058 kW in 1995 respectively, indicating average annual increase rates of 14.5% and 10.7%. Up to 1990, the number of engine-powered vessels increased annually by about 6,000. However, many of the boats added were small boats with engine power of below 20 HP (average 14.7 kW).

• Zhang J.S. et al (1985) estimated that stock sizes for demersal and pelagic fish in the

continental shelf area east of Hainan Island (245,000 km2) were 420,000 tonnes and 346,000 tonnes respectively. The fish stock size in Beibu Bay (128,000 km2) was about 840,000 tonnes. The authors suggested that total annual catches should be sustained between 1,000,000 and 1,200,000 tonnes.

Catches from the three provinces of mainland China (Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan) facing the South China Sea were 2,452,958 tonnes in 1995, largely exceeding the estimated stock size of 1,200,000 tonnes; this figure discounts catches of Fujian Province, Taiwan, Hongkong, Macau and Vietnam. Meanwhile, catches of high value species (e.g. crimson snapper, Lutjanus erythropterus, large yellow croaker, P. crocea, Paragyrops edita, and Saurida spp.) declined. At present, there is a prevalence of low-valued pelagic species (e.g. Japanese scad, D. maruadsi, D. lajang, filefish, Thamnaconus spp.) and small sized, immature fish in the catch. There are signs that some of the fisheries resources in the South China Sea have been overfished.

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3 FISHERIES RESOURCES 3.1 General Features From north to south, the China Seas cover a wide area of 37-degree latitude encompassing temperate, sub-tropical and tropical zones and spread over a wide area of continental shelves. The species composition of resources varies according to the gradual change of environmental conditions from north to south as well as from coastal to offshore waters. There are about 2,052 species of fish, crustacean and cephalopod in catches from the China Sea waters. About 20 species (or species groups) are predominant in catches and individual species can yield more than 100,000 tonnes. These include large head hairtail (T. lepturus), chub mackerel (S. japonicus), Japanese scad (D. maruadsi), Japanese Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus niphonius), greenfin filefish (Thamnaconus septentrionalis), Japanese anchovy (Engraulis japonicus), Japanese sardinella (Sardinella zunasi), hairfin anchovy (Setipinna taty), large yellow croaker (T. crocea), yellow croaker (T. polyactis), pomfrets (Pampus spp.), golden thread bream (Nemipterus virgatus), Daggertooth pike conger (Muraenesox cinereus), Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi), Japanese squid (Loligo japonicus), shrimps (Acetes spp.), Gazami crab (Portunus trituberculatus), jelly-fish (Phopilema esculenta). Among these species (or species groups), the annual catches of large yellow croaker, green-fin filefish, Pacific herring and Japanese squid have all dropped to below 100,000 tonnes. Fish species distributed in the Bohai and Yellow Seas are mostly temperate species (more than 70%), some cold water species (7-8%) and tropical species (about 10%). The major species composition of catches in this area are Acetes chinensis, Chinese prawn (Penaeus chinensis), Gazami crab (Neptunus trituberculatus), jelly-fish (Rhopilema esculenta), Collichthys spp., large head hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus), yellow croaker (Larimichthys polyactis), flounders, chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus), Japanese Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus niphonius), pomfrets (Pampus spp), Japanese anchovy (Engraulis japonica), Chinese herring (Ilisha elongata). There are more tropical species than temperate species in the southern area and the area east to the 127o00’ E of the East China Sea. In the inshore waters of the middle and northern East China Sea, there are almost as many tropical species as temperate species. However, catches from this area have been dominated by temperate species. The dominant species in catches are large head hairtail (T. lepturus), large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea), yellow croaker (L. polyactis), chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus), Japanese scad (Decapterus maruadsi), greenfin filefish (Thamnaconus septentrionalis), pomfrets (Pampus spp.), Japanese Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus niphonius), conger pike (Muraenesox cinereus), Chinese herring (I. elongata), prawns and shrimps (Penaeus japonicus, Parapenaeopsis hardwickii, Palaemon gravieri, Trachypenaeus curvirostris, Solenocera crassicornis, etc.), Gazami crab (P. trituberculatus), cuttlefish, jelly-fish (Rhopilema esculenta). Fish resources in the South China Sea are mostly tropical species, which are characterized by the small size of individual stocks. Fishes in this area are usually mixed in their distribution. Most of the species do not migrate and have relatively long spawning period from 3 to 8 months. The major species of demersal fishes are greater lizardfish (Saurida tumbil), S. filamentosa, slender lizardfish (S. elongata), lizardfish (Synodus spp), red bigeyes (Priacanthus tayenus, P. macracanthus), golden skin porgy (Paragyrops edita), golden thread bream (Nemipterus virgatus), jack (Caranx equla) and goatfish (Upeneus spp). The dominant pelagic species are Japanese scad (D. maruadsi), mackerel scad (D. lajang), golden sardine (Sardinella aurita), chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus), and Japanese jack mackerel (Trachurus japonicus).

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The biological features of the major commercial demersal and pelagic species in the China Seas are listed in Tables 12 and 13 respectively. 3.2 Large Head Hairtail, Trichiurus lepturus

Large head hairtail is the most important commercial species in China and widely distributed in the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China Sea and the South China Sea. There are two major stocks of hairtail: one in the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea (called Yellow Sea stock), and the other in the East China Sea. Some smaller local stocks are found in the South China Sea, coastal waters of southern Fujian Province and Guangdong Province. The age distribution of the hairtail is normally composed of 1-6 year old fish with a prevalence of 1-2 year old fish and some under one year old. Body length is usually between 100 mm to 500 mm, with a dominant length group of 210-280 mm. The length-weight relationship can be expressed as: W = 3.025x10-5L2.8806

The growth of hairtail in terms of length and weight can be expressed in the von-Bertalanffy function as: Lt = 559.1[1-e-0.287(t+0.31)] Wt = 2176[1-e-0.274(t+0.87)]3 (Wu, 1985) Meanwhile the estimated natural mortality (m) was 0.44 (Wu and Liu, 1981) From 1956 to 1995, total catches of this species fluctuated between 168,000 tonnes and 1,039,000 tonnes, 70% of which was from the East China Sea. The Yellow Sea stock was fully exploited in the late 1950s overfished in the 1960s and has collapsed since the 1970s. Since then, there have almost no catches from the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea stock. The East China Sea stock was exploited somewhat later than the Yellow Sea stock and became fully exploited in the 1970s with an average annual catch of 414,000 tonnes, dropping to around 300,000 tonnes by the end of the 1980s with a record low of 293,000 tonnes in 1988. This decline was mainly associated with heavy fishing pressure on large adult fish. Catches of hairtail from the East China Sea have increased since 1989, when a regulation was introduced to prohibit fishing on spawning stocks in inshore waters between 1 May and June 30, with fishing activities moving to deeper offshore waters. Some changes in catches have been observed: catches by state-owned fishing companies declined from about 20% of total catches before the early 1980s to only 1.4% in 1994; at the same time, catches from small scale fishery operations increased significantly. Before 1986, more than 50% of the catch was from the winter season; that figure has now dropped to only about 25%. Most of the remaining catches were taken in the summer and autumn seasons which tend to be dominated by immature fish. It will be difficult to maintain this high yield in the future. Xu and Pu (1981) estimated that the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) of hairtail for the East China Sea stock was about 460,000 tonnes with a corresponding fishing effort of 297,000 standard fishing days. Based on the Virtual Population Analysis (VPA), Wu (1985) estimated the hairtail biomass of one year old and above: he found the highest biomass in 1973 of 3 billion in

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number (≈ 600,000 tonnes in weight) and of about 2.7 billion (≈ 540,000 tonnes) in the early 1980s. The total stock size in terms of number was much higher in the early 1990s than in the mid 1980s although the biomass was about the same, which was apparently due to the prevalence of small, juvenile fish in the 1990s. Xu et al (1994) estimated that between 1989 and 1992 the stock size in terms of fish numbers in the summer fishery was 83% higher than the average fish numbers in the previous 9 years, with an increase in weight of only 22%. In the winter fishery, the corresponding values were 47% and 22% respectively. 3.3 Filefish, Thamnaconus septentrionalis The filefish used to be a very important fish species for Chinese fisheries, especially for state-owned fishing companies. It was the most important target species for the fishing companies when filefish were abundant in the 1980s. Filefish are distributed throughout the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, the Sea of Japan and the coastal waters of South Korea. There are two main populations - one in the Sea of Japan, and the other in the East China Sea, Yellow Sea and off South Korea. The latter can be divided into four stocks: southern part of the East China Sea, offshore waters of the East China Sea, northern part of the Yellow Sea, and along the coast of South Korea (Zhen, 1989). There are two major over-wintering grounds: in the deep part of the East China Sea and Tsushima Strait, where the bottom water temperature is about 11-14oC and salinity is about 34-35 ppt. Fish migrate southwards from both areas to the spawning grounds located in the southeastern part of the East China Sea. Spawning in this area occurs in May and June at about 100 m in depth. Eggs are attached to the substrate and hence are very susceptible to destruction from bottom trawlers. Females reach sexual maturity at age 1+ when they are about 107 mm in length. Fish usually remain near these grounds for feeding after spawning. Some fish from the over-wintering grounds may directly migrate to mid-northern part of Yellow Sea for spawning and feeding. Filefish has become an increasingly important fishery resource since the mid-1970s. In the 1980s, it was the main target species for both China and Korea fisheries and was also fished by the Japanese. The majority of filefish were landed in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, where they processed for domestic markets and export. In China, state-owned fleets mainly fished filefish in the 1970s and early 1980s. These fleets used to focus on the spawning stocks found in deep waters in the southern part of East China Sea. Since the late 1980s, many collective and private vessels have joined this fishery and started to fish both spawning and over-wintering stocks. Fishing activities have inevitably focussed on over-wintering stocks in recent years and the result has been both a decline in catches and in the age structure of fish in the catches. Between 1977 and 1983, the average length of fish in the catch was 187.1 mm; between 1984 and 1991, this length had dropped to 163.6 mm and in 1995, to only 116.2 mm (Qian and Zhen, 1997). In the past, fish of all ages between 1 and 10 years old were found in catches with a predominance of 2 and 4 years. Now fish of under dominates the catch one year and 1 year olds. Older fish have virtually disappeared. Filefish biomass peaked when the fish were 3-4 years old; the catch could rise significantly if the age of first capture increased to three years old. Based on total Chinese catches from 1976 to 1995, Chen (1997) estimated the stock size (1+-7 years old) in the same period (Table 14). The stock size was at a high level of 517,000 to 675,000 tonnes in the late 1970s, but declined to about 400,000 tonnes in the early 1980s, with a peak of 885,000 tonnes in 1986. Since the early 1990s, stock size has declined dramatically and

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was only 3,000 tonnes in 1995 with a corresponding catch of 2,000 tonnes and has since collapsed. Maximum sustainable yield estimates for filefish in the East China Sea were between 154,000 and 250,000 tonnes. Catches consistently exceeded these amounts in the 1980s and early 90s, since when catches have declined dramatically. The dramatic decline in filefish stocks has been linked to overfishing although Zhen et al (1994) held the opinion that it was a reflection of the long term cycle of environmental changes associated with the Kuroshio warm current, which also affects the Pacific herring as well. 3.4 Large Yellow Croaker, Larimichthys crocea The large yellow croaker is widely distributed in waters less than 80 m in depth from the mid-southern part of Yellow Sea in the north, to the east coast of Laizhou archipelago, and to the South China Sea in the south. However, the offshore area of mid-northern East China Sea, which is surrounded by the coastal waters of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces as well as Shanghai Municipality, is the main concentration zone. There are 3 local stocks of yellow croaker: in the southern Yellow Sea and the northern part of East China Sea; in the southern part of the East China Sea and the north-western part of the South China Sea; and in the north-eastern part of the South China Sea. Large yellow croaker was once one of the most important species. Between 1956 and 1982, the average annual catch was about 119,000 tonnes, of which about 96.4% (115,000 tonnes) derived from the southern Yellow Sea and the East China Sea. Yields peaked at 197,179 tonnes in 1974. Subsequently catches declined and in the late 1980s were less than 20,000 tonnes, only 10-60% of which was from the East China Sea. Catches in the early 1990s were around 30,000 tonnes. In the 1960s and 1970s, fishing season and fishing grounds were very distinct but became weaker because after the 1970s the stock size had been in a continuous decline. This species inhabits shallow coastal waters and thus remains vulnerable to most fishing gears and environmental disturbances. Large adult fish are virtually absent in current catches and there is little hope for stock recovery in the near future given current levels of fishing effort. 3.5 Yellow Croaker, Larimichthys polyactis

Yellow croaker is distributed in the wide area from 26o00’ N to 40o30’N and from the coastal waters of Zhejiang and Jiangsu Provinces to 126o00’E, with concentration in the area between 29o00’-35o00’N and 123o00’-125o00’E. There are three major stocks: the Bohai and Yellow Sea stock, with the main spawning season in May; the southern Yellow Sea stock, with major spawning in April; and the East China Sea stock with peak spawning in March (Lin et al, 1964). Age and growth of the Yellow Sea stock was studied by Liu (1990), who based his study on 1959 data. The length and weight relationship and the von-Bertalanffy growth function were: W = 1.4835x10-5 L3.03

Lt = 330(1-e-017(t+2.5))

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Jin (1996) studied the age and growth of small yellow croaker from the Yellow Sea by using the data from 1985-1990 and come up with the L-W relationship and von-Bertalanffy growth function as W = 9.39x10-6 L3.121

Lt = 361(1-e-0.22(t+1.21) ) The above analysis indicated that small yellow croaker from the late 1980’s grew faster (0.22) than those did in the late 1950s (0.17). The small yellow croaker experienced a similar dramatic decline in abundance during the 1960s and 1970s as the large yellow croaker. However, in the 1980’s, the total catches and catch per unit effort tended to remain relatively stable, albeit at a dangerously low level of catch around 20,000 tonnes. In the early 1980s, the General Bureau of Fisheries issued regulations to protect this species in the area between 32o00’N and 34o00’N and from the coast eastward to 122o30’E. This area is closed for bottom trawling between April 1st to July 31st during the croaker-spawning period. This has helped stock recovery as the catch of this species has increased rapidly since the end of the 1980s. With the rapid increase in catch, the average body size of the catch declined. The average body length and weight were 165.3mm and 70.4g in 1993 and 160.2mm, 60.9g in 1994, but were only 152.8mm and 53.5g in 1995. Meanwhile, fishing season and fishing area had also expanded. In 1980’s and before, catches of this species were mainly from spawning stocks in spring and summer seasons. Since the early 1990s, the majority of the catches had been from the over-wintering stocks in autumn and winter seasons (Chen, 1997). The small yellow croaker inhabits deeper offshore waters and thus is less vulnerable to the multitude of small mesh nets used by the fishery in the coastal waters. However, the regulations introduced in early 1980’s may have some effect towards recovery of the resource. With the continued increase of fishing pressure, however, the apparent stability in the stock size may, thus, be illusionary as the majority of the catch consists of small and immature fish. 3.6 Chub Mackerel, Scomber japonicus The chub mackerel is widely distributed in the coastal waters of northwest Pacific Ocean. There are three main stocks in China waters (Wang, 1991): the East China Sea stock, the west Wudao stock, and stocks in the northern part of South China Sea. The first stock has an overwintering ground in the mid-southern part of the East China Sea at a depth of about 100-m. Fish from this stock migrate northwards to the northern East China Sea, Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea. The second stock has an overwintering ground off Korean coast at a depth of 80-100 m. Fish from this stock has relatively short migration. Some of the fish migrates to the Sea of Japan through Toshima Strait; some others migrate to the Yellow Sea for spawning. Since 1980’s the migration to the Yellow Sea have virtually disappeared due to heavy fishing on the over-wintering groups. Fish from the northern part of the South China Sea possess somewhat different biological and ecological features and are characterized by short distance migrations, low growth rate, late stage of maturity and smaller size (see Table 15). The length-weight relationship of the stock in the Yellow Sea was:

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W = 0.798x10-5L3.073

And the von-Bertalanffy growth function was: Lt = 425(1-e-0.53(t+0.8)) Wt = 825(1-e-0.53(t+0.8))3

As described by Chen and Li, 1978. The history of the fisheries could be traced back to the 1930s, when drift nets were commonly used. In the early 1950s, catch of this species from Yellow Sea gradually increased and reached 1000 tonnes in 1953. From 1956, the catch in this area dropped to a low level of 229 tonnes when purse seine fishery finally stopped in 1964. Fish abundance rose again after 1968, when purse seine and drift net were re-used. Fishing areas expanded to the East China Sea waters. Light attraction was first used in the purse seine fishery in 1970. Catches from the Yellow Sea peaked at 72,000 tonnes in 1974, and have sharply declined to less than 5,000 tonnes since 1982. In the East China Sea region, both purse seines and trawlers caught chub mackerel. With the decline of demersal fish resources, chub mackerel was no longer the by-catch of the trawler, but a target species. The total catch of Chinese fisheries in the East China Sea have been stable in the last decade, around 100,000 to 154,000 tonnes. Chub mackerel in the East China Sea is believed to be under-exploited and the stock size was around 500,000 tonnes with MSY of 280,000 tonnes (Ding, 1987). The fishing effort has not increased very much due to low demand on markets. 3.7 Japanese Spanish Mackerel, Scomberomorus niphonius The Japanese Spanish mackerel is widely distributed in the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea. There were two major over-wintering grounds for this species. The first one located in the southeastern part of Yellow Sea in the waters of 32o00’-33o40’N and 124o40’-127o15’E with a depth of 60-85 m. The other is in the offshore waters of the East China Sea (28o00’-31o20’N and 123o40’-125o30’E) in a depth of 70-95 m (Wei, 1991). Spawning takes place from March to June in most of the coastal waters. After spawning, the Japanese Spanish mackerel stay in the same area or nearby water for feeding. Concentrations of feeding fish are found in the mid part of the Yellow Sea and the offshore waters of the East China Sea. The length-weight relationship was studied by Wei (1991), who derived the following function W = 2.30x10-5L2.8159. In the meantime Liu (1981), who studied the growth of the spring stock between 1974 and 1978, came up with the following von-Bertalanffy growth function: Lt = 709(1-e-0.53(t+0.70)) Wt = 2,669(1-e-0.51(t+0.63)) There were seven age groups from catches of this species. Between the 1950s and the early 1970s, the fish were mainly caught by drift gillnet. The major composition of the catch was

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2 and 3 years old fish with a dominant length group of between 500 mm and 600 mm. From the mid-1970s to mid-1980s, the number of drift net increased rapidly. Meanwhile mesh size was getting smaller and a lot of bottom trawlers also targeted this species. The catch was mainly composed of one and two year old fish with a great number under one year old (see Table 16). The dominant length group was between 450 mm and 550 mm. Total catches of this species were around 30,000 tonnes in the 1970s and between 28,700 and 42,000 tonnes in the 1980s. Catches from the East China Sea waters were between 4,000 and 8,000 tonnes in the 1970s and between 10,000 and 25,000 tonnes in the 1980s. Surprisingly catches have increased since 1989, when mid-water trawling was introduced. The catch was 34,000 tonnes in 1989, 40,000 tonnes in 1990, and reached 48,000 tonnes in 1991. However, the catch dropped to 15,000 tonnes in 1992. The reason for this drop was not clear, although some scientists suggested that overfishing might have played an important role since many trawlers with small mesh size fished for the species. The catch was composed of 1-6 year old fish with rare occurrence of old fish in recent years. Based on the annual catches and the numbers of drift gillnets from 1964 to 1978, Wei C. (1986), using the Schaefer and Fox Models, estimated that MSY for the Japanese Spanish mackerel in the entire China Sea was 33,000 tonnes and 35,000 tonnes respectively. 3.8 Japanese Scad, Decapterus maruadsi The Japanese scad are found in the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the South China Sea, but mostly abound in the South China Sea. There are two independent stocks of round scad: the South China Sea stock and the East China Sea stock. The former stock is found in the northern part of South China Sea all year round, with a short distance migration from the north to the south or from shallow to deeper waters and vice versa. The East China Sea stock is distributed in the coastal waters from the mouth of the Yangtze River to the Taiwan Strait. Every May and June, round scad concentrates in the waters off the mouth of Yangtze River for spawning. Round scad begin southward migration to Taiwan Strait in early November. Zhang and Zhang (1985) presented the length-weight relationship in the form of a function as Wt = 5.112x10-6L3.1775 And the von-Bertalanffy growth function as: Lt = 340x(1-e-0.24(t+0.44)) Wt = 488x(1-e-0.26(t+0.39)) Zhu et al. (1987) studied the growth of round scad from the East China Sea stock and presented the relationship between length and weight as: Wt =1.6562x10-5L2.947

and the von-Bertalanffy growth function as: Lt = 361x(1-e-0.276(t+1.846))

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Wt = 570x(1-e-0.282(t+1.80)) Meanwhile Yuan (1983) studied the relationship between the recruit and the spawning adult for the summer stock of round scad in the South China Sea, coming up with the following relationship: R=7.044Pe-0.758

where R is the recruit number, P is the number of adults. By using this relationship, he estimated that maximum recruitment comprised 340,190,000 individuals with a population of adult spawners of 131,900,000. Round scad is one of the most important fishery resources in the South China Sea. Catches from the three provinces of Guangdong, Hainan and Guangxi reached 209,000 tonnes in 1977. In the early 1990s, catches from these provinces were at peak levels of between 180,000 and 250,000 tonnes. In the East China Sea region, round scad fisheries developed in the 1960s with the introduction of light purse seine. The average annual catch from 1971 to 1983 was 35,000 tonnes with a peak yield of 65,000 tonnes. In the late 1980s and early 90s, the stock size of round scad was relatively high, especially in the southern part of East China Sea off Fujian Province. Annual catches from the East China Sea have reached around 200,000 tonnes in recent years. 3.9 Japanese Anchovy, Engraulis japonicus The Japanese anchovy is widely distributed in the Northwest Pacific from southern Kuye Island in the north to the Taiwan Strait in the south. In late autumn, when the water temperature drops to about 15oC, the anchovy leaves coastal waters for deeper offshore habitats. In November, anchovies begin southward migration. The fish concentrate in the area of 35o00-39o00N and 122o00-125o00E at a water temperature of 10 to 13oC. In the following February, they move to the area of 26o00-36o00N and 123o00-125o00E. In April, when water temperature rises, anchovy begins migrating northwards for spawning. A study on growth and mortality by Zhu (1991) came up with the following length-weight relationship: W = 4.0x10-3L3.09

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and the von-Bertalanffy growth function: Lt =16.3(1-e-0.3(t+0.2)) Catches of this species have fluctuated between 30,000 and 50,000 tonnes; however, in recent years, catches have increased significantly mainly owing to an increase in fishing effort (see Table 17). Scientists from the Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute and the Norwegian scientists on the R.V. “Bei Dou” from 1985 to 1988 investigated stock sizes of the Japanese anchovy. Estimated stock sizes from 1985 to 1988 were between 2,000,000 to 2,820,000 tonnes. Two types of sonar fish finder were used to assess the stock size of anchovy in the Yellow and East China Seas. The areas and estimated stock sizes for each year are listed in Table 18. As the sonar or fish finder did not detect anchovies in the top 10-m water column and in the bottom 0.5 m, Zhu (1991) also suggested that actual stock sizes might be higher than the above estimate. 3.10 Prawns There are more than 60 species of prawns present in Chinese coastal waters, 10 of which are commercially important to the fishery, including Acetes chinensis, Penaeus japonicus, Solenocera koelbeli, S. crassicornis, Parapenaeopsis hardwickii, Trachypenaeus curvirostris, Parapenaeus fissuroides, Metapenaeopsis philippi, M. barbata, and M. dalei. The distribution of shrimp resources complies with environmental conditions; Song and Ding (1995) classified resources into 3 ecological groups according to hydrological characteristics of their habitats as in the following: • Group 1 prefers coastal waters less than 30 m in depth with low salinity (< 25 ppt), wide

range of water temperatures (6-26oC); examples are Acetes chinensis, Exopalaemon annandalei, E. carinicauda, Leptochela gracilis, Hippolysmata vittata, Palaemon serrifer, P. macrodactylus, P. ortmanni, Penaeus chinensis, P. penicillatus, Alpheus distinguendus.

• Group 2 inhabits waters of 10-60 m (mainly 30-60m) in depth with wide ranges of salinity and water temperatures (25.0-33.5 ppt, and 8-24oC), where low salinity coastal waters mix with high salinity offshore waters. They include Palaemon gravieri, Solenocera crassicornis, Parapenaeopsis hardwickii, P. sculptilis, P. tenella, Metapenaeus joyneri, M. ensis, Penaeus japonicus, Trachypenaeus curvirostris, Metapenaeopsis dalei, Atypopenaeus stenodactylus, Heterocarpoides laevicarina.

• Group 3 inhabits waters deeper than 60 m with salinity above 34 ppt and temperatures between 14oC and 24oC. Examples are Solenocera koelbeli, Parapenaeus fissuroides, Metapenaeopsis philippi, M. barbata, Solenocera choprai, Plesionika izumiae, Sicyonia cristata, Thenus orientalis, Pontocaris lacazei, Ibacus ciliatus, I. novemdentatus, Linuparus trigonus.

• Before 1970, set nets only caught shrimps. Exploited species were mainly coastal species, particularly Acetes chinensis (70-80% of landings). There was some coastal trawling by mainland Chinese and Taiwanese trawlers, but catch rates were low. By the mid 1970s, the stock size of coastal demersal fish species had declined. Fishermen started to do exploratory shrimp fishing using beam trawls. Since then, shrimp fisheries have expanded rapidly and extended farther seawards. Beam trawls have been the main gears used. The beams were typically of 24-26 m long with some of over 30 m.

• Before 1984, prawn fishing activity concentrated in the northern waters of Zhejiang Province and the coastal waters near the mouth of the Yangtze River. The annual catch from Zhejiang

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Province in 1984 was 10,000 tonnes. After 1984, the fishery rapidly extended to the southern and offshore waters as well. Catches increased, and in 1986 the catch from Zhejiang Province was 40,000 tonnes, reaching 100,000 by 1990 and 530,000 by 1995. Vessels from other provinces also fished in these waters. Prawn production from all vessels in the East China Sea was 780,000 tonnes in 1995.

• Prior to 1982, vessels were small with power of 12 to 24 HP. The total number of vessels in Zhejiang Province was approximately 600 (Zhu, 1991). By 1985, the number had reached 2,800 and later increased to 4,500 in 1988 and by 1994, the number had reached 6,500. At least 1,000 additional vessels from other provinces, including at least 500 from Taiwan, participate in prawn fishing in Zhejiang waters.

• While the rapid growth rate in this sector of the fishing industry has not shown any sign of slowing down, the catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) has declined since the mid 1980s. Fishing areas have expanded from areas with an average depth of 30-40 m to about 80 m in depth (Shen et al, 1989; Mo, 1990). Shrimp resources in the coastal waters may have been fully or perhaps overexploited, while resources in offshore waters may still have exploitation potential. Some scientists suggested that maintaining the present number of fishing vessels and introducing a closed season regulation would be essential to assure high yield (Wang, 1988; Shen, 1989).

3.11 Cephalopods There are about 90 species of cephalopods in Chinese waters, 7 of which are found in the Bohai Sea, 14 in the Yellow Sea, 29 in the East China Sea and 58 in the South China Sea. 3.11.1 Cuttlefish Cuttlefish catches account for the greatest proportion of cephalopod catches in the Chinese fishery. However, this proportion has declined in recent years. For example, the proportion of cuttlefish in cephalopod catches from the East China Sea decreased from 90% in 1960 to 70% in 1990. The main cuttlefish species are the Japanese spineless cuttlefish (Sepiella maindroni), the golden cuttlefish (Sepia esculanta), the kisslip cuttlefish (S. lycidas), and the broad club cuttlefish (S. latimanus). Of these, Sepiella maindroni is the most common species in catches. S. maindroni has two main stocks distributed in the waters of Zhejiang and Fujian Provinces. Given the specie's predominance in catches, stock changes greatly affect the cephalopod fishery. In the 1950s, the average catch of this species was 40,040 tonnes, rising to 56,000 tonnes in the 60s and 58,000 tonnes in the 1970s. Of these catches, 79.5-98.0% was from the East China Sea. Since the late 1970s, S. maindroni has been overfished and the total catch dropped to about 10,000 tonnes in recent years. The reasons for the drop in catches were overfishing of the spawning/pre-spawning stocks, destruction of the spawning ground by trawlers, and under sized catches taken by set net fishermen (Zhao et al., 1990). 3.11.2 Squids The Japanese squid (Loligo japonica) is one of the common squids in the northwest Pacific. It is mainly caught by the Japanese and the South Korea fleets. The Japanese squid in Chinese waters is confined to the Yellow Sea, where the annual catch fluctuates over a wide range between 10,000 to 100,000 tonnes.

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Loligo chinensis is another common squid species. In Chinese waters, it is mainly distributed in the northern South China Sea and Taiwan Strait. Catches have been about 10,000-15,000 tonnes. The Japanese flying squid (Todarodes pacificus) is also a common species and is mainly distributed in the waters around Japan, but is also found in the Yellow and East China Seas. Prior to the 1980s, catches were very low. Since the 1980s, Japanese flying squid have been caught by trawlers in the waters around the mouth of the Yangtze River and the Zhoushan fishing grounds. Annual Chinese catches of this species vary between 1,000 and 4,000 tonnes. Swardtip squid (Loligo edulis) are widely distributed in the East China and the South China Seas, but are mainly concentrated in waters of 100 m in depth, from 29o30’N to the northern part of the Taiwan Strait. In the late 1980s, the swordtip squid became the target species of the Fujian and Zhejiang fishermen. The catch per unit effort (CPUE) for this species was reported as high in 1991, but low in 1992, and high in 1993, while in 1994 catches started showing a dramatic fluctuation in abundance. Overall, cephalopod catches in China have been increasing despite a significant decline in abundance of the Japanese cuttlefish. The future for squid catches seems encouraging as the overall trend had been increasing with minor fluctuations. There is potential scope for further exploitation (Zhen , 1994). 4 POLLUTION AND ITS IMPACT ON FISHERIES 4.1 Overview China has a very long coastline and extensive sea areas. The seas provide Chinese people with the opportunity to exploit their resources. However, the sea is not only the cradle of man but also absorbs considerable amounts of the hazardous pollutants produced by man. Economic development has been accompanied by the rise of industrialization, which in turn generates environmental impacts. As a result, there has been an increase in the pollution of aquatic environments from various industrial plants, agricultural practices (fertilizers, pesticides) as well as from untreated household wastes. In addition, oil pollution from untreated waste from refineries and commercial tankers has also increased. Intensive coastal aquaculture has also generated self-pollution in the environment. The amount of discharge waters from industrial and domestic wastes poured into the Chinese coastal environment is estimated as high as 10 billion tonnes each year. Wu (1997) indicated that the major contaminants include oil, heavy metals (e.g. Hg) and pesticides. There are as many as 1,000 pollution incidents per year with fish losses running up as high as 200,000 tonnes for a value of 300 million Yuan (Wu, 1997). Zhang and Zhang (1992) identified various categories of environmental impacts and summarized them as follow: (1) degradation of fishing grounds and culture sites; (2) contaminated shellfish in tidal zones and shallow waters; (3) the decline of anadromous species; (4) the low quality of fishery products; (5) reduced setnet catches; and (6) proliferation of red tides. 4.2 Pollution Wei and Tong (1993) studied the impact of pollution on ecological conditions in the Bohai and Yellow Seas. Total pollution discharges into the Bohai and Yellow Seas were

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estimated as high as 2,000,000 tonnes/year in the early 1990s, resulting in greater levels of COD (consumption oxygen demand), oil, and inorganic nitrogen; respective levels were 1,900, 296; 51,507 and 44,756 tonnes/year (see details in Table 19). 4.2.1 Water quality in the Bohai and Yellow Seas

Levels of COD and oil in the waters of this area were relatively high in the 1970s, dropping in the 1980s and increasing again in the 1990s, while inorganic nitrogen and phosporus increased annually. Quantities of inorganic nitrogen in the Bohai and Yellow Seas increased more than threefold from the 1960s to the 1990s. Most heavy metal concentrations in the waters changed little, although Pb and Hg showed a slight increase after the 1980s. 4.2.2 Contamination of marine organisms The accumulated contaminants in some fishes, crustaceans and shellfishes are listed in Table 20. The contaminants in migratory fish are lower than that in coastal demersal species, while contaminant levels in fish are generally lower than in crustaceans and other shellfishes. Shellfishes showed higher levels than crustaceans. 4.2.3 Ecological impacts of contaminants Many elements may have a certain effect on fish community, species number and ontogenesis of marine organisms. Fishing activities and climatic changes are those considered as having long-term effects. Wei and Tong (1993) indicated below that at least four aspects are linked to the ecological impacts of pollution.

(a) The decline in number of species The number of faunistic species in some areas of the Yellow Sea has been declining. For example, benthic fauna in the tidal zone of Jinzhou Bay have declined to only 8 species and are even absent in one-fourth of the area. The main species in Qingdao Bay decreased from 141 in the early 1960s to only 24 in the late 1980s (see Table 21). (b) Increased occurrence of mass mortality of wild and cultured organism due to unwanted organism and disease problems in mariculture. (c) Increase occurrence of red tide blooms. (d) Structural changes in fish stock. The stock size of high trophic level species has declined, and these stocks have been replaced by lower trophic level species (e.g. the large yellow croaker, small yellow croaker and hairtail almost disappeared in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, while the low trophic level species (anchovy) increased in recent years).

Zhu (1994) has studied the pollution of the East China Sea, especially in the Zhoushan fishing grounds. Pollutants discharged into Hangzhou Bay from the Yangtze River, Qiantangjiang River, Chaoejiang River and Yongjiang River and those discharged into the southern coastal waters of Zhejiang Province from Jiaojiang River, Oujiang River, Feiyunjiang River and Aojiang River were mainly COD, oils, Zn, Cu, Al, Pb and Hg (see Table 22).

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Based on data from the “Annual Report on the Water Quality in the East China Sea for 1989”, Zhu (1994) indicated that the nitrogen content of 96% of the area was higher than the limit set by the government, while the average quantity was 9.4 times higher than the limit. The N in the waters around the mouth of the Yangtze River and in Hangzhou Bay was 14 times higher than government limits. Meanwhile 41.3% of the total area had high phosphate, with average values 1.04 times that of the limit. Meanwhile Hangzhou Bay and the mouth of Yangtze River contained the highest phosphate levels. Copper was another important contaminant and the report indicated that 35% of the area showed high copper content and that on average the content was double the Government limit. About 3.4% of the total area contained high oil levels and average oil content was 2.0 times higher than government limits. Mercury levels in the waters of northern Hangzhou were high, although the average value for the total area was low. These data showed that the coastal area, particularly the west area of the Zhoushan Fishing Ground, was characterized by increasing levels of COD, copper and oil. Results of the survey conducted by the East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute showed that in the area west of 122o30’E, the class 1 (the best quality) water was only 5.2%, class 2 was 22.4%, while the remaining area (72.4%) belonged to class 3 (Zhu, 1994). Dai et al. (1991) studied heavy metal and pesticide contamination of marine organisms in the coastal waters of the East China Sea (see Table 23). On average, the results showed that contaminants did not exceed government fixed limits, with only some samples showing contents of Pb, Zn and Cd that were higher than government limits. This indicated that heavy metals and pesticides had affected only certain marine organisms in some of the studied area. Lu et al. (1991) studied metal content in fishes from the coastal waters of the South China Sea (see Table 24). The results showed that metal levels monitored in fish tissue during the study were generally lower than levels in 1978-1979, although Cr had increased by 2.6 times. But this level was still below government limits. The data indicated that fish in the coastal waters of Guangdong Province had not been affected by heavy metals. Lu et al (1991) suggested that Cr increases were due to the rapid development of the metal plating, electronic and leather industries in the coastal areas of Guangdong Province. 5 LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK OF FISHERIES

MANAGEMENT 5.1 Historical Background Fishing has a long history in China and the notion of fishery management concept can be traced back to thousands years ago. Prohibition of fishing in the summer during the fish and shrimp spawning seasons was described in the “Xiayu” Dynasty (2100 -1600 B.C.). In the “Chun Qiu” Dynasty (770 - 476 B.C.), a book called “Guanzi, baguanpian” mentioned that there was a limit on the extent of water of lake and sea and thus on fisheries resources too. Controls on the numbers of nets and its mesh size were also described. Besides regulations to protect the biological resource, organizations to manage resources were established in ancient times (more than 4,000 years ago). In the “Ming” and “Qing” Dynasties (1369-1911 A.D.), fisheries management related activities were also outlined.

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5.2 Legal and Institutional Framework Figure 8 summarizes the structure of fisheries organizations in the Ministry of Agriculture. The top fisheries administration authority in the Ministry of Agriculture is the Bureau of Fisheries (BoF), which consists of several divisions each with its own responsibility or mandate to deal with different fisheries subjects. The BoF is also supported by at least four fisheries subsidiary bodies:

a) Fisheries Administration Bureaux or Units Under the supervision of the Bureau of Fisheries, there are three regional fisheries administration bureaux responsible for different regions encompassing different seas (Bohai-Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea). Meanwhile, there are also fisheries administration units within the fisheries bureau in each key province.

b) Fishery Bureau (or Aquatic Bureau)

This institution is present in each coastal province, municipality and county.

c) Marine Fisheries Corporation Under the BoF, there is a National Fishery Corporation, which has branches within some local state-owned marine fishing companies. Meanwhile some state-owned marine fishing companies are entrusted to local government (provincial and municipal government).

d) Fisheries Colleges and Research Institutes There are four fisheries colleges directly under the authority of the BoF and one college, which is supervised locally. Meanwhile, the Chinese Academy of Fisheries Science supervises 10 fisheries research institutes directly and a local (provincial or municipal) fisheries research institute in each key province or municipality. The main research institutes dealing with marine fisheries are the Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute in Qingdao, the East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute in Shanghai, and the South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute in Guangzhou.

5.2.1 Fisheries management and its mechanism Fisheries management related activities fall under the authority of the BoF of the Ministry of Agriculture. The various divisions of BoF are responsible for different fields of fisheries administration. For instance, the Marine Capture Fishery Division has the administrative responsibility for marine capture fisheries, while the Division of Science and Education is responsible for administering research projects and education programmes. These divisions represent the top authorities for each specified field of work. These divisions comprise the policy maker, policy controller and the management supervisor. Detailed management responsibility is embedded within two different levels, the regional and provincial (and the level below) fisheries administration bureaux (units). There are three regional fisheries administration bureaux with responsibility for administering fisheries in the main marine areas of China: the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea Fisheries Administration Bureau, the East China Sea Fisheries Administration Bureau, and the South China Sea Fisheries Administration Bureau. The BoF directly supervises them. Meanwhile, each key province (for instance, the coastal provinces) has its own fisheries administration unit within the fisheries or aquatic bureau. The remaining provinces entrust fisheries management responsibility to the provincial aquatic bureaux. The major fisheries

22

regions, cities or counties have established fisheries administration stations. These organizations have been set up to deal with and to coordinate fisheries activities across provinces. In general, the fisheries management policy of central government is implemented through regional, provincial and county levels. The provincial fisheries administrative units are under the direction of both provincial fisheries bureaux and aquatic bureau and the regional fisheries administration bureau. However, there is different emphasis between the regional and provincial fisheries administration bureaux (units). The regional fisheries administration bureaux are accountable for fisheries management in offshore waters (the area east of the Inshore Closed Line for the bottom trawling) and some inshore areas under the special regulations of the National Fisheries Law (for instance, the Bohai Sea). On the other hand, the provincial fisheries administration units have the mandate for fisheries management in inshore areas (the western part of the Inshore Closed Line). Long distance migratory species come under the management responsibility of the regional fisheries administration bureaux, while local stocks fall under the management of the provincial (and below) fisheries administration units. Furthermore, fishing grounds of some important species are the management responsibility of central government with close cooperation from the regional or provincial administration bureaux (units). The regional fisheries administration bureaux are responsible for issuing fishing licenses and collecting Resource Conservation and Enhancement Fees from the following:

(i) fishing vessels operating in the deep-sea area; (ii) fishing vessels with individual power of 600 HP and above; (iii) state-owned vessels operating in the east area to the Inshore Closed Line; (iv) fishing vessels of the joint venture companies.

The provincial fisheries administration units (and a level below) have the authority to issue licenses and to collect fees from other vessels than the above (including non-powered small boats). 5.2.2 Management support Although matters relating to fisheries management were mentioned during past history of China in various "dynasty", for many years the concept of fisheries management was interpreted by people in the fisheries sector as the management of fishing fleets to maximize production. For instance, before 1983, the present regional fisheries administration bureau was formerly called the Regional Fishing Command Office, which had the major task of administering fishing activities and maintaining the fishing order in relation to fishing fleets and fishing grounds. Only since the continued decline of catch rates and warnings by fisheries scientists about the limits of fishery resources has the need for fisheries management received momentum and the understanding among policy makers gradually evolved. As a result a number of management measures (including licensing system, closed areas, and closed seasons) have been subsequently introduced. Formulation of management measures requires information support from research establishments. Unfortunately, limited government funds and poor fisheries statistics data in the current system have hampered fisheries scientists from providing scientific backup in this regard.

23

Fishing license are issued on the basis of number of vessels that operated in the preceding year, not on the basis of fish stock abundance in current years. Certain management measures (protected area, closed season) originated from studies conducted many years ago. It is extremely probable that protected spawning grounds may not be the current spawning zones at all. There is ongoing cooperation among fisheries agencies as reflected by the holding of integrated meetings before a specific fishing season. For instance, before the large head hairtail (T. lepturus) winter fishing season (1st November-31st January), a specific meeting would be held by the fisheries officials involved. The meeting would have participation from managers from fishing companies, officials from fishery production bureaux and fisheries administration offices, as well as from scientists from fisheries research institutes. The fishery and stock size from previous years would be reviewed, and the stock size and possible catch would be assessed. At the East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, some programmes are devoted to stock assessment of the major commercial species, e.g., the large head hairtail T. lepturus, filefish Thamnaconus septentrionalis. The estimated stock size and the potential catch for a specific species are produced by the institute and distributed to the fisheries management offices and fishing companies in a written form every year. For the East China Sea region, a Committee/Task Force for the “Monitoring of fisheries resources in the East China Sea” was established in 1987 and is still operational. The Task Force is administered and supported by the Regional Fisheries Administration Bureau. It has good support from the East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute as its technical base (regional station) and from the provincial fisheries research institutes as its extensions (local station). It also has some representatives from fishing companies. The main mandate of this organization is to use the fishing vessels as an investigative tool in assessing major fish stocks. Every April, an annual conference is organized for officials from the Fisheries Management Offices, Fisheries Production Bureaus, scientists from the Fisheries Research Institutes and the managers from the Fishing Companies. Scientists from both the regional and local stations present reports and papers on work in the previous year. Fisheries resource status and management measures are normally discussed. A similar arrangement for monitoring of the fisheries resources has also been established for the Bohai and Yellow Sea regions. 5.2.3 Management measures Fisheries laws and regulations are formulated by central government (i.e. Ministry of Agriculture) and implemented under the supervision of the regional and provincial fisheries administration bureaux (units) in accordance with their relevant responsibilities. Appendix 1 presents details of other legislation related to environmental conservation and protection (produced by the Ministry of Environment) which is of close relevance to fisheries conservation. In general, existing management measures may be grouped into three major categories as follow: 5.2.3.1 Fishing license scheme This system deals with the control of fishing vessels and the collection of fees for fisheries resources enhancement and conservation work. The BoF allocates total quotas of the

24

number of fishing licenses for the whole country and for each regional sea. Each regional fisheries administration bureau allocates total number of fishing licenses for each province. Each province issues fishing license according to the quota and in line with its responsibility. Licenses for fishing vessels operating in the inshore area (west to the Inshore Closed Line) or with total engine power below 600 HP are issued by the provincial fisheries administration units. For fishing vessels operating in the offshore area (east to the Inshore Closed Line) or with individual engine power of 600 HP and above, the licenses are processed through the provincial fisheries administration units and issued by the regional fisheries administration bureau on a quota basis. The basis of the fishing license system is not perfect and still suffers from some weaknesses, which affect the system's effectiveness. Current fishing licenses issued are still very much based on licenses issued in the past year and less consideration is given to the current abundance of fisheries resources. Meanwhile, the existence of illegal fishing by non-licensed vessels has also obscured real fishing pressure on resources. Every year the BoF sets a limit for the total number of fishing licenses and makes continued efforts to freeze further increases, as yet with little success. The number of vessels keeps increasing. 5.2.3.2 Closed areas and seasons Major closed areas and seasons presently implemented are as follows:

(a) The spawning ground of large yellow croaker (L. croceus) and yellow croaker (L. polyactis)

This area is located between 32o00’N and 34o00’N and from the coast eastward to 122o30’E (see Figure 10). This area is closed for bottom trawling between April 1 and July 31 (during the spawning period). This protection zone was initially introduced in 1981. This closure of area and season has been in force for more than 15 years. However, there has been little effect on the recovery of large yellow croaker stocks. Catches of this species are still low. Large adult fish have virtually disappeared in the catch and there is little hope that stocks can recover in the near future at current fishing levels. On the other hand, total catches of the small yellow croaker have increased rapidly in recent years. It is believed that this increase is partly due to this closure, although to some extent it is also related to the rapid increase in fishing effort (e.g., the increase in the number of fishing vessels, expansion of fishing area and season). However most of the catch is made up of small immature fish. Stock sizes have not increased significantly. (b) Prohibition of trawling in the Bohai Sea Bottom trawling in the Bohai Sea has been completely forbidden since 1988. This measure was introduced to conserve bottom living resources in the Bohai Sea. After about nine years of closures, stocks of bottom fish species have not yet recovered. Nonetheless, the recurrence of large head hairtail (T. lepturus) and the growing number of yellow croaker (L.polyactis) and pomfrets (Pampus spp.) have showed positive signs. (c) Closure of hairtail spawning area This area is located between 28o30’N and 30o30’N and between the Inshore Closed Line and 124o30’E. Since 1989, this area has been closed for bottom trawling and fishing by other gears targeting hairtail from May 1st to June 30th. It is believed to have caused some recovery of hairtail stocks as demonstrated by the recent increase in hairtail catch. The most apparent

25

evidence is that the number of summer spawners and the number of recruits in the autumn of the 1990s increased compared to those in the 1980s. However, the rapid increase of fishing effort has meant that the hairtail population has suffered from growth overfishing. The spawners were mainly composed of 1 year old fish while the recruits were mainly under one year (Xu et al, 1997). (d) Expansion area of the Inshore Closed Line Similar to the area within the Inshore Closed Line, the area 30 nautical miles east of the Inshore Closed Line and between 27o00’N and 35o00’N is closed for bottom trawling between August 1st and October 31st. These regulations have been in existence since 1992. (e) The closed summer season From July 1st to August 31st, all areas of the East China and Yellow Seas are closed for trawling except for beam trawling targeting shrimp. These regulations have been in force since 1995. It is believed that the closed summer season has some effect on spawners and the nursery of young fish. From the study of hairtail stocks, an increase of 15-20% of the stock density index was observed after the summer closed season in 1995 compared to 1994, although the number of juveniles in the spring of 1995 showed a 25% drop (Xu et al., 1997). (f) Sino-Japanese Fishing Agreement of 1975 Under this agreement, six conservation zones and seven closed areas or “Protection” zones were established. An account of the agreement is presented in Appendix I. 5.2.3.3 Mesh size limit and the percentage of juvenile fish in the catch (refer to

Appendix I). The maximum allowable percentage of juveniles in catches were: for trawlers <20% juveniles for purse seiners <15% juveniles Fisheries administration officers implement regulations on mesh size and percentage of young fish in the catch. Vessels operating in the area west of the Inshore Closed Line are inspected by the provincial (and below level) fisheries administration officers; vessels operating in the area east of the Inshore Closed Line are inspected by the regional fisheries administration bureaux. Inspections of mesh size and percentage of juvenile fish in the catch have been in force since 1975 after the signing of the Sino-Japan Fisheries Agreement. However, for various reasons, the inspection work has not been very effective. The major reason is that fishermen are free to sell their product anywhere following the price liberalization policy of the mid-1980s. Fishermen may sell their fish anywhere and even in the sea, without any restriction. The other contributing factor is the lack of government funds for inspection activities. Running costs for the inspection work (including labour cost, fuel and ship maintenance, etc.) have increased rapidly since the late 1980s, while the funds for inspection work have changed little or remained the same.

26

6 REFERENCES Chen, G.M. 1992 : Fisheries resource status and some suggestion for its rational usage in the South China Sea. Fisheries Technology No.1 : 1-4. Chen,Q, and Li, P.J. 1978 : Growth of the Japanese chub mackerel in the Bohai and Yellow Sea. Research Reports of the Liaonin Provincial Marine Fisheries Research Institute, No.41 : 7p. Chen, W.Z.1994 : Fisheries resources status of the major commercial species in the East China Sea. Marine Fisheries, 16(4):163-167. Chen, W.Z. and Mi, C.D. 1997 : A review on the fisheries resources status in the East China Sea for the last decade. Symposium on the tenth anniversary of the “Fisheries Resource Monitoring Organization of the East China Sea”, p.27-41 (mimeo). Dai, G.L., Zhu,Q.Q. and Yang, H.S.1991 : Contamination of the metal and pesticide on the marine organisms in the Mouth of Yangtze River and the adjacent areas. Marine Environment Science, 10(3): 20-26. Deng, J.Y. and Zhao, C.Y.1991 : Biology of Marine Organism. Agriculture Press, 686p. Fan, Z.J. 1992 : An investigation and evaluation of the marine pollution problems in China. Journal of Ocean and Coastal Zone Development, 9(1): 58-61. Fisheries Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture 1991 : Forty years Statistic Work for Fishery of China. Ocean Press, 256p. Fisheries Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture 1996: Statistic Data Collection for Fishery of China. Ocean Press, 130p. Fisheries Bureau and the East China Sea Fishery Command Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries 1987 : Fisheries Resources Investigation in the East China Sea. East China Normal University Press, 661p. Fisheries Bureau and the South China Sea Fishery Command Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, 1989 : Fisheries Resources Investigation in the South China Sea. Guangdong Science and Technology Press : 91-198. Fisheries Bureau and Yellow Sea Fishery Command Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries 1987: Fisheries Resources Investigation in Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea. Ocean Press,295p. Fu, W.X. and Huang, W.X. 1993 : Red tide problems and the improving strategies in China. Marine Environment Science, 12(3-4): 111-115. Huang, Y.J., Du, Q. and Wang, X.F. 1992 : Effect of the water pollution on the coastal fishery development in Fujian Province and some suggestion on improvement strategies. Fujian Fisheries, 2: 70-72. Jin, X.S. 1996 : Ecology and population dynamics of the small yellow croaker (Pseudosciaena polyactis Bleeker) in the Yellow Sea. Journal of Fishery Sciences of China, 3(1): 32-46. Lin, X.Z., Deng, S.M., Huang, Z.Y. and Q.Z. Wang. 1964, Study on the population biological features of the small yellow croaker, Pseudosciaena polyactis, Symposium on the Marine Fisheries Resources, p.84-108. Agriculture Press : 178pp. Liu, C.X., Zhang, X. and Yang, K.W. 1981 : Growth of the Japanese Spanish mackerel, Scomberomorus niphonius. Iconology et Limnologia Sinica, 13(2):170-178. Lu, C.H., Lin, Y.T. and M.L. Yang. 1991, Study of the metal contamination on the major commercial fish species in the sea waters of Guangdong Province. Marine Environment Science, 10(2): 46-50. Lu, S.X., 1994, A study on the change of the fisheries resources in China and the corespondent fishing policy. Qilu Fisheries, 11(2): 3-5. Nian, Y.P, 1993, A study on the metal contamination in the fish body of the major commercial species in the Chinese coastal waters. Marine Environment Science, 12(3-4): 99-103. Policy and Legislation Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, 1989, A Collection of the Laws and Regulations in Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries. Agriculture Press, 996.

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Qian, S.Q. and Zhen,Y.J.,1997, Study on the biology and resource status of the green-fin filefish (Thamnaconus septentrionalis) in the East China Sea. Symposium on the 10 years anniversary of the “Fisheries Resources Monitoring Organization of the East China Sea”, p.49-55 (Mimeo). Qiu, H.J. and Chen, L., 1993, Study of the environment status for fishery ecology and some suggested policy in the coastal waters of Fujian Province. Fujian Fisheries, 3:37-39. Qiu, S.Y., 1997, On the evaluation of fish Abundance in the East China Sea,.Marine Fisheries, 19(2): 49-51. Song, H.T. and Ding, T.M., 1995, Distributions and fisheries of the shrimps in the northern East China Sea. Journal of Oceanography in Taiwan Strait, 14(1): 67-72. Song, H.T. and Ding, T.M., 1993, A comparison study on the biological features of the shrimps from the northern East China Sea. Journal of Zhejiang Fisheries College, 12(4): 244- 248. The South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, 1989, Symposium on Fisheries Research in the South China Sea. Guangdong Science and technology Press, 170p. Wei, C., 1986, Resource status and conservation measures of the Spanish mackerel in Bohai and Yellow Sea. Qilu Fisheries, 1:46-47. Wei, X.W. and Tong, J.A., 1993, Environment contamination status and its effects on the ecosystem in the Bohai and Yellow Sea. Journal of Oceanography of Huanghai and Bohai Seas, 11(3): 76-82. Wu, B.L. and Qiu, J.W., 1993, Fisheries resources management and large marine ecosystem in the Yellow Sea. Journal of Oceanography of Huanghai and Bohai Seas, 11(1):13-18 Wu, C.J., 1997, Superficial talks on the pollution in marine fisheries environment and its control countermeasures. Marine Fisheries, 19(2): 83-86. Wu, J.Z. and Liu.Z.F.,1981, Study on the forecasting of the yield of hairtail, Trichiurus haumela, from Zhejiang Fishing Ground in Winter. Symposium of the Zhejiang Fisheries Society, 1:1-10 (Mimeo). Xu, H.X., Liu, Z.F., Ding,Y.P. and Xu,Y.J.,1994, Resource status and the suggested management policy for the hairtail, Trichiurus haumela, in the East China Sea. Journal of Zhejiang Fisheries College, 13(1): 5-11. Xu, H.X., Liu,Z.F. and Xu,Y.J.,1997, Resource status and Analysis of the management measures of the hairtail, Trichiurus haumela, in the East China Sea. Symposium on the 10 years anniversary of the “Fisheries Resource Monitoring Organization of the East China Sea”, p.42-48 (Mimeo). Xue, P. and Lu, B.Z., 1993, Dynamic management of the population and suggested optimal exploitation policy for the hairtail, Trichiurus haumela, in the East China Sea. Iconology et Limnologia Sinica, 24(1): 72-78. Yang, D.Y., 1995, An analysis on the change of the fisheries resources in the coastal waters of Guangdong Province. Marine Fisheries, 17(2): 71-75. Ye, C.C., 1964, Study on the growth of small yellow croaker, Pseudosciaena polyactis. Research reports of the Liaonin, Provincial Marine Fisheries Research Institute, No.19: 10p. Zhang, G.H., Zhang X.W., 1992, A study on the fisheries resources status and its potential usage. Modern Fisheries Information, 7(8): 10-16. Zhang, J., Zhang Q.Y., 1985, Age and growth of round scad, Decapterus maraudsi, from the coastal waters of South Fujiang Province and Guangdong Province. Journal of Oceanography in Taiwan Strait, 4(2) : 209-218. Zhang, J.S.,1980, Study on the chub mackerel in the South China Sea. Marine Fisheries, (1): 1-4. Zhang, Y.X., 1992, Study on the Pacific herring, Clupea pallasi, in the Yellow Sea. Qilu Fisheries, 4 : 25-29. Zhao C.Y.and J.Y. Dang, 1990, Marine Fisheries Resources of China. Zhejiang Science and Technical Press : 686p. Zhen, Y.J., 1994, Resource status and its rational usage of the cephalopods in the East China Sea, Marine Fisheries, 16(5):199-204.

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Zhu, D.K., 1994, Effects of the environment contamination on the Zhoushan Fishing Ground. Marine Fisheries. 16(6): 257-262. Zhu, D.L., Bao, Z.L. and W.X. Zhou, 1987, Age and growth of round scad, Decapterus maraudsi, from the coastal waters of Zhejiang Province. Journal of Fisheries of China, 11(3): 215-224.

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Figure 1. Seas around China with designated inshore

closed line

30

Figure 2. Total catch by area0

5000

1000

015

000

1979

1981

1983

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

Y e a r

Tota

l Cat

ch ('

000

MT)

Other Sea S.C.Sea E.C.SeaYellow SeaBohai Sea

Figure 3. Total catch by fishing gear types

-

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

1978

1980

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

Y e a r

OthersAnglingSet netDrift gillP.SeinesTrawler

31

Figure 4. Trend in number and HP of fishing vessels

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

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1978

1980

1982

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Y e a r

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f Ves

sel

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6000

8000

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Tota

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kW)

Powered vesselsNon-powered vesselsTotal HP

Figure 5. Trend of total catch, total HP and CPUE for Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea

0.0

500.0

1000.0

1500.0

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's

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Year

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Total CatchTotal HPCPUE

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Figure 6. Trend of total catch, total HP and CPUE for East China Sea

0

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2000

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600019

60's

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)

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E (k

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)

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Figure 7. Total catch, total HPand CPUE for South China Sea

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Figure 8. Organizational Chart of the Bureau of Fisheries

Yellow Sea andBohai Sea

Management B.

East China SeaManagement

Bureau

South China SeaManagement

Bureau

State OwnedFishing

Companies

Collectiveand Private

Fishing

County Bureausof Production and

Management Offices

Municipal Bureausof Production and

Management Offices

Provincial Bureausof Production and

Management Offices

Yantai MarineFishing

Company

Zhoushan MarineFishing

Company

Zhanjiang MarineFishing

Company

China NationalFishery

Cooperation

Yellow SeaFisheriesInstitute

East China SeaFisheriesInstitute

South China SeaFisheriesInstitute

Zhujiang RiverFisheriesInstitute

Changjiang RiverFisheriesInstitute

HailongjiangRiver Fisheries

Institute

Machinery andInstrumenets

Institute

FisheriesInformation

Institute

FisheriesEconomyInstitute

Wuxi FreshWater Fishery

Center

Chinese Academyof Fisheries

Science

ShanghaiFisheriesUniversity

DalianFisheriesCollege

ZhanjiangFisheiresCollege

XiamenFisheriesCollege

Bureau of FisheriesMinistry of Agriculture

34

TABLES

Table 1. Total marine catches (‘000 tonnes) and percentages (%) from different seas

Year Total

Volume

Bohai Sea

Volume %

Yellow Sea

Volume %

East China Sea

Volume %

South China Sea

Volume %

Other Seas

Volume %

1979 2,773 323 11.65 604 21.78 1,342 48.40 486 17.53 18 0.65 1980 2,813 294 10.45 515 18.31 1,415 50.30 552 19.62 36 1.28 1981 2,774 285 10.27 468 16.87 1,491 53.75 529 19.03 1 0.04 1982 3,098 286 9.23 573 18.50 1,594 51.45 623 20.11 21 0.68 1983 3,072 289 9.41 623 20.28 1,468 47.79 681 22.17 10 0.33 1984 3,305 317 9.59 611 18.49 1,645 49.99 725 21.94 8 0.24 1985 3,485 375 10.76 619 17.76 1,690 48.49 777 22.30 24 0.69 1986 3,894 390 10.02 653 16.77 1,799 46.20 960 24.65 92 2.36 1987 4,381 418 9.54 773 17.64 1,932 44.10 1,253 26.32 105 2.40 1988 4,633 456 9.84 850 18.35 1,919 41.42 1,276 27.54 123 2.65 1989 5,036 488 9.69 940 18.67 1,987 39.46 1,472 29.23 149 2.96 1990 5,509 516 9.37 1,086 19.71 2,073 37.63 1,615 29.32 220 3.99 1991 6,096 588 9.65 1,170 19.19 2,178 35.73 1,788 29.33 372 6.10 1992 6,912 810 11.72 1,208 17.48 2,311 33.43 2,068 29.92 516 7.47 1993 7,673 858 11.18 1,320 17.20 2,642 34.43 2,241 29.21 612 7.98 1994 8,959 905 10.10 1,487 16.60 3,275 36.56 2,601 29.03 691 7.71 1995 10,268 954 9.29 1,706 16.61 4,378 42.64 2,377 23.15 852 8.30

35

Table 2. Total Chinese marine catches (‘000 tonnes) and percentages (%) for different fishing gear types

Year Total Volume

Trawler Volume %

Purse seines Volume %

Drift gillnet Volume %

Set nets Volume %

Angling Volume %

Others Volume %

1979 2,773 992 35.77 674 24.31 148 5.34 36 1.30 923 33.29 1980 2,813 1,143 40.63 585 20.80 188 6.68 32 1.14 865 30.75 1981 2,774 1,135 40.92 577 20.80 186 6.71 47 1.69 830 29.92 1982 3,098 1,331 42.96 563 18.17 225 7.26 57 1.84 922 29.76 1983 3,072 1,356 44.14 507 16.50 258 8.40 634 20.64 101 3.29 215 7.00 1984 3,305 1,420 42.97 463 14.01 319 9.65 806 24.39 69 2.09 228 6.90 1985 3,485 1,386 39.77 523 15.01 430 12.34 890 25.54 80 2.30 176 5.05 1986 3,894 1,664 42.73 546 14.02 480 12.33 931 23.91 82 2.11 192 4.93 1987 4,381 1,808 41.27 610 13.92 566 12.92 1,059 24.17 83 1.89 255 5.82 1988 4,633 1,893 40.86 599 12.93 672 14.50 1,107 23.89 79 1.71 283 6.11 1989 5,036 2,154 42.77 519 10.31 673 13.36 1,128 22.40 93 1.85 468 9.29 1990 5,509 2,553 46.34 496 9.00 762 13.83 1,197 21.73 104 1.89 428 7.77 1991 6,096 2,847 46.70 441 7.23 856 14.04 1,273 20.88 104 1.71 575 9.43 1992 6,912 3,196 46.24 435 6.29 1,021 14.77 1,246 18.03 144 2.08 871 12.60 1993 7,673 3,769 49.12 447 5.83 1,034 13.48 1,524 19.86 162 2.11 737 9.61 1994 8,959 3,850 42.97 398 4.44 1,180 13.17 1,716 19.15 238 2.66 1,576 17.59 1995 10,268 5,358 52.18 553 5.39 1,264 12.31 1,928 18.78 341 3.32 825 8.03

36

Table 3.1. Total catches (tonnes) of the major commercial species in China waters

Year Large yellow croaker

Yellow croaker

Hairtail

Pacific herring

Mackerel & scad

Chinese herring

Filefish

Cuttlefish

Snappers

Prawns

Acetes spp.

Jelly-fish

1979 82,938 35,663 437,206 38,938 205,405 14,719 105,391 90,127 1,846 53,781 98,078 12,967 1980 86,361 35,957 473,315 37,981 247,343 14,890 161,365 79,518 452 36,352 133,102 8,988 1981 79,786 35,186 499,012 35,073 214,201 14,753 208,600 28,131 8,584 28,855 155,011 17,966 1982 58,640 30,562 493,373 23,464 288,051 12,537 265,938 49,931 2,796 16,513 159,966 17,582 1983 33,554 28,462 451,772 21,267 366,467 13,584 137,923 53,394 5,170 29,019 167,890 1984 40,733 19,623 450,030 9,444 323,841 16,613 324,245 54,030 11,376 34,835 188,445 36,461 1985 26,101 30,628 458,723 3,228 326,456 17,302 272,674 53,102 18,654 73,188 209,120 60,908 1986 17,243 19,806 406,403 6,445 370,275 19,937 426,913 50,374 13,274 112,232 175,207 19,380 1987 17,239 20,143 393,606 12,971 510,792 14,294 407,210 60,023 17,701 187,058 162,366 58,484 1988 18,083 23,954 365,730 10,206 491,869 14,680 263,294 73,379 17,894 253,895 190,589 32,098 1989 19,416 16,778 416,202 5,456 551,876 15,823 392,068 56,553 35,395 25,185 217,278 34,944 1990 25,443 23,459 497,733 3,941 584,719 23,454 337,189 69,327 53,311 38,414 211,365 39,174 1991 25,352 47,158 559,358 2,472 662,488 31,112 285,601 68,946 42,527 35,915 217,081 96,009 1992 36,437 63,047 622,243 2,209 635,164 30,014 157,965 69,349 57,903 37,858 228,726 228,459 1993 34,820 78,311 635,315 994 533,362 28,624 95,500 118,536 57,565 32,054 262,457 132,572 1994 69,181 102,976 878,144 1,330 766,951 32,540 196,312 193,046 56,785 45,770 326,314 113,354 1995 67,031 153,048 1,039,684 2,325 887,336 46,635 122,358 213,772 58,576 43,043 390,402 171,905

37

Table 3.2. Total marine catches (tonnes) of the major commercial species in the China waters

Year Chub

mackerel

Japanese scad

Anchovy Spanish mackerel

Pomfrets Japanese sardine

D. pike conger

Groupers Red lip mullet

Golden thread

Blue crabs

Southern rough

1989 231,625 320,251 39,957 148,079 70,743 21,293 50,033 9,227 19,012 84,096 132,560 73,737 1990 196,823 387,896 54,140 208,569 83,005 41,608 67,672 14,712 17,965 116,427 120,701 97,547 1991 242,639 419,849 113,050 200,643 94,795 63,445 80,582 15,364 28,707 130,927 132,205 91,372 1992 243,143 392,021 192,720 146,756 73,208 52,986 91,655 21,598 20,305 146,027 155,548 100,664 1993 272,604 260,758 557,237 145,480 116,553 46,846 106,853 22,401 36,552 165,397 132,264 151,219 1994 336,091 430,860 438,955 202,811 138,335 68,453 142,092 22,469 64,102 177,033 292,102 167,145 1995 372,038 515,298 489,066 226,520 209,031 58,434 154,867 22,999 71,426 224,574 243,485 151,746

38

Table 4.Total Chinese fishing effort in vessel number, in total engine power and in total weight of vessel

Year Powered vessels in number

Powered vessels in 1000 kW

Non powered vessels in number

Non powered vessels in 000

tonnes 1979 42,779 2,150 120,049 363 1980 49,769 2,419 123,296 350 1981 60,906 2,627 118,538 330 1982 79,830 2,871 115,012 274 1983 95,873 3,064 103,616 248 1984 112,132 3,271 102,046 219 1985 132,785 3,639 93,829 196 1986 164,423 4,185 74,777 160 1987 196,315 4,832 76,343 145 1988 217,519 5,566 71,027 121 1989 234,098 6,293 66,526 107 1990 244,154 6,797 76,362 102 1991 242,669 7,242 64,797 91 1992 244,171 7,831 73,783 90 1993 252,126 8,107 46,304 68 1994 252,457 7,967 43,508 61 1995 273,978 9,801 40,783 66

Table 5. Total catch from the distant fishing

Year Total catch (tonnes) Landed in the domestic market Volume %

Number of vessels

1986 19,894 4,307 20.29 25 1987 63,912 14,683 22.97 61 1988 96,367 33,213 34.47 87 1989 107,117 28,029 26.17 129 1990 179,128 64,096 35.78 189 1991 323,456 128,926 39.86 276 1992 464,251 186,213 40.11 447 1993 562,220 106,098 18.87 869 1994 688,343 948 1995 856,795 1,311

39

Table 6.Total marine catch, total power of fishing vessels and the CPUE from Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea

Year Total Catch (tonnes) Total Power (kW) CPUE (kg/kW)

1960’s 437,146 96,802 4,516 1970’s 858,663 384,639 2,232 1980 826,473 677,756 1,219 1981 791,285 702,179 1,127 1982 945,425 730,256 1,295 1983 915,172 762,377 1,200 1984 994,660 811,325 1,226 1985 1,045,258 908,071 1,151 1986 1,125,229 1,111,611 1,012 1987 1,297,875 1,199,263 1,082 1988 1,413,568 1,334,779 1,059 1989 1,523,969 1,501,471 1,015 1990 1,687,564 1,551,733 1,088 1991 1,809,458 1,665,774 1,086 1992 2,159,139 1,753,422 1,231 1993 2,361,399 1,808,183 1,036 1994 2,391,931 1,788,801 1,337 1995 2,660,270 1,980,344 1,343

40

Table 7. Total catches (tonnes) of the major commercial species from the East China Sea

Year

Large yellow croaker

Small yellow croaker

Hairtail

Chinese herring

Pomfrets

Spanish mackerel

Mackerel& scad

Filefish

Cuttlefish

Jellyfish

Shrimps & crabs

Total Catch

1960’s 118,385 38,263 277,219 9,029 1,446 49,573 25,288 108,933 893,600 1970’s 129,777 28,745 414,257 13,903 26,760 6,042 60,848 133,702 40,901 17,422 158,676 1,298,100 1980 78,329 15,610 408,411 12,404 36,469 8,451 102,879 111,851 65,321 4,852 186,070 1,444,000 1981 73,282 11,565 432,692 10,871 35,456 9,606 79,106 138,271 18,371 4,738 214,770 1,454,300 1982 49,256 8,392 406,685 8,614 47,432 11,308 123,983 160,752 27,564 5,743 238,328 1,529,500 1983 25,944 8,846 379,054 10,574 31,448 15,537 184,287 42,894 33,158 2,096 243,333 1,476,300 1984 36,044 7,308 350,806 11,450 38,908 19,880 159,054 138,752 31,401 6,253 303,621 1,600,800 1985 20,009 7,228 367,618 11,959 47,672 22,533 151,175 137,746 26,549 5,347 339,145 1,683,400 1986 10,180 8,238 339,668 8,680 50,747 23,547 188,047 192,233 20,064 2,643 361,096 1,818,500 1987 7,047 5,438 320,084 6,077 62,503 21,746 278,743 226,918 22,429 4,705 373,530 2,018,800 1988 4,511 10,202 293,749 9,297 42,251 25,210 296,647 109,755 18,621 7,615 441,857 2,027,800 1989 1,747 3,642 326,970 6,462 42,352 34,360 223,050 215,378 20,503 5,826 434,171 2,160,000 1990 1,681 9,223 386,734 9,376 49,836 40,092 250,929 178,526 28,988 8,707 407,579 2,297,100 1991 2,295 16,961 452,955 9,124 58,927 48,697 353,158 123,962 25,151 10,931 467,584 2,549,500 1992 2,510 23,500 492,306 8,070 38,574 35,120 338,916 70,042 31,079 4,477 526,057 2,780,550 1993 3,081 25,977 499,699 8,491 55,993 29,870 297,008 13,464 63,767 26,866 545,854 3,134,224 1994 9,414 50,485 654,217 12,102 74,194 34,977 355,088 38,421 120,614 17,463 884,162 4,031,839 1995 23,582 75,910 849,184 18,198 134,089 52,117 403,920 35,894 141,500 45,538 951,993 4,819,046

41

Table 8. Total catches (‘000 tonnes) and percentages (%) by fishing gear type from the East China Sea

Year Total Trawler Volume %

Purse Seine Volume %

Drift gill net Volume %

Angling Volume %

Set nets Volume %

Others Volume %

1979 1,420.0 347.3 24.45 576.7 40.59 53.4 3.76 19.8 1.39 1980 1,444.0 384.1 26.60 489.9 33.92 71.9 4.98 17.5 1.21 1981 1,454.0 387.8 26.67 523.2 35.98 72.8 5.01 29.5 2.03 1982 1,529.5 451.7 29.53 444.9 29.09 93.8 6.13 31.5 2.06 1983 1,467.3 481.2 32.59 395.1 26.76 94.0 6.37 73.8 5.00 376.9 25.53 46.3 3.14 1984 1,600.0 504.1 31.49 373.6 23.33 114.6 7.16 36.8 2.30 465.7 29.09 106.0 6.62 1985 1,683.0 504.0 26.28 426.2 27.98 128.6 7.64 36.8 2.19 477.0 28.34 110.8 6.58 1986 1,818.5 582.6 31.49 430.6 23.08 122.7 6.75 32.8 1.80 533.5 29.34 116.3 6.40 1987 2,018.8 625.0 30.96 471.9 23.38 143.0 7.07 34.5 1.71 596.6 29.55 147.8 7.32 1988 2,027.8 594.3 29.31 370.1 18.25 199.3 9.83 30.4 1.50 590.6 29.12 243.1 11.54 1989 2,160.0 707.0 32.73 362.5 16.78 159.11 7.36 26.2 1.21 642.9 29.76 262.3 12.14 1990 2,297.1 869.0 37.83 340.0 14.08 162.7 7.08 34.5 1.50 663.3 28.88 227.6 9.91 1991 2,549.5 989.9 38.83 270.3 10.60 178.7 7.01 30.5 1.20 696.8 27.33 383.3 15.03 1992 2,781.8 1,084.3 38.98 242.6 8.72 181.0 6.51 30.8 1.11 687.4 24.71 555.7 19.98 1993 3,134.2 1,459.3 46.66 238.3 7.62 196.1 6.27 27.7 0.89 882.9 28.23 329.9 10.55 1994 4,031.8 1,401.9 34.77 164.8 4.09 253.8 6.29 46.8 1.16 1,049.1 26.02 1,115.4 27.66 1995 4,819.0 2,582.8 53.59 288.1 5.98 318.4 6.61 117.9 2.45 1,200.6 24.91 311.2 6.46

42

Table 9. Number of Chinese fishing vessels, total engine power and catch per kW in the East China Sea

Year Number of powered fishing vessels

Total power (x 103 kW) CPUE (kg/kW)

1960’s 4,333 396 2,258 1970’s 11,989 957 1,356 1980 79,298 1,615 894 1981 27,357 1,585 918 1982 34,293 1,415 1,081 1983 41,350 1,507 980 1984 49,751 1,612 993 1985 59,663 1,785 943 1986 69,550 1,966 925 1987 91,374 2,326 868 1988 94,839 2,667 760 1989 102,851 3,049 708 1990 107,208 3,344 687 1991 100,719 3,490 731 1992 98,213 3,847 723 1993 101,253 3,996 784 1994 106,400 4,221 955 1995 114,010 5,192 928

43

Table 10. Total marine catches, number of powered vessels, total engine power and catch per kW from the South China Sea

Year Total catches (tonnes)

Number of powered fishing vessels

Total power (kW) CPUE (kg/kW)

1960’s 380,151 1,204 72,921 5,2131970’s 649,812 5,043 303,529 2,1411980 542,174 9,668 572,880 9461981 528,510 15,050 642,552 8231982 623,443 26,415 725,395 8601983 680,822 34,154 795,303 8561984 709,752 39,834 846,852 8381985 759,495 42,986 945,830 8031986 940,794 44,536 1,107,267 8501987 1,046,371 61,914 1,335,158 7841988 1,166,900 57,665 1,564,503 7461989 1,314,765 69,079 1,742,788 7541990 1,448,088 71,262 1,901,246 7621991 1,581,417 72,620 2,086,196 7581992 1,776,425 73,348 2,141,135 8301993 1,972,806 72,068 2,302,245 8571994 2,216,231 72,514 2,384,590 9291995 2,452,958 73,865 2,628,058 933

Note: Catches and efforts listed here are the sums of those from Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan Provinces; catches and efforts of vessels from Fujian Province but operating in South China Sea are not included here. Thus catches data here are lower than that in Table 1.

Table 11. Average annual percentages increase in total power of engine powered vessels and in total catches

Year % increase in total power of engine powered vessels

% increase in total catches

1953-1959 75 28 9 981960-1969 20.04 2.631970-1979 13.63 1.331980-1989 13.31 10.32

44

Table 12. Biological features of the major commercial species for demersal fishes in China

Species Fish maturity age length Years (mm)

L∞ (mm) K to

Greater lizardfish 120 687 0 144 -0 75Conger pike 3 300 635 0.141 -0.63Perch 3 800.13 0.256 -0.371Red bigeye 1 170 285 0.314 -1.925Large yellow croaker 3-4 280 512.4 0.2903 -0.486Small Yellow croaker 2 190 292 0.45 -0.59White croaker 2 110 283 0.4582 -0.038Snaper 2 300 827.6 0.17 -0.62Yellow sea bream 170 263.1 0.176 -1.95Silver sea bream 3-5 414 0.313 -0.56Goldenskin porgy 1 112 351.7 0.132 -1.80Golden thread sea bream 110 300 0.262 -1.60Hairtail 2 240 559.1 0.287 -0.31Filefish 2 110 326.7 0.264 -2.40

greater lizardfish= Saurida tumbil golden thread= Nemipterus virgatus Daggertooth pike conger = Muraenesox cicinereus Large head hairtail= Trichiurus lepturus perch= Lateolabrax japonicus filefish= Thamnaconus septentrionalis red bigeye= Priacanthus tayenus large yellow croaker= Larimichthys croceus yellow croaker= T. polyactis white croaker= Argyrosomus argentatus snaper= Lutianus erythopterus yellow sea bream= Taius tumifrons silver sea bream= Chrysophrys major golden skin porgy= Paragyrops edita

45

Table 13. Biological features of the major commercial species for pelagic fishes in China Sea

Species Fish maturity Age Length (mm)

L∞ (mm)

K to

Chinese herring 2 280 475 0 338 -0 847Golden sardine 1 174Japanese pilchard 2 160 240 0.2552 -3.361Gizzard-shad 1-2 135 263 0.45Japanese anchovy 1-2 95 140 0.47Hairfin anchovy 1-3 95 199 0.596 -0.15Round scad 1 174 361 0.276 -1.846R.scad(Southern stock) 1 130 570 0.282 -1.80Mackerel-scad 150 303 0.27 -1.63Hardtail 1 240Japanese jack mackerel 1 321 0.217 -2.61Black pomfret 1 183 343 0.28 -2.0chub mackerel 1-2 260chub mackerel(South stock) 1 210 380 0.30 -2.02Japanese Spanish mackerel 1-3 420 709 0.53 -0.70Harvest fish 1-2 120 301 0.356 -1.47White pomfret 2-4 342 0.29 -1.51

Chinese herring= Ilisha elongata Harvest fish= Pampus argenteus Mackerel scad= Decapterus lajang Japanese scad= D. maruadsi Golden sardine= Sardinella aurita Hardtail= Magalaspis cordyla Japanese pilchard= Sardinops melanosticta Japanese jack mackerel =Trachurus japonicus Gizzard-shad= Clupanodon punctatus Black pomfret= Formio niger Japanese anchovy= Engraulis japonicus Chub mackerel=Scomber japonicus Scaly hairfin anchovy= Setipinna taty Japanese Spanish mackerel= Scomberomorus niphonius white pomfret= P. nozawa

46

Table 14. The estimated stock sizes and total catches of filefish Thamnaconus septentrionalis Year

Estimated stock size in 000 tonnes

Total catch in 000 tonnes

Year

Estimated stock size in 000 tonnes

Total catch in 000 tonnes

1976 639 211 1986 885 315 1977 675 216 1987 757 337 1978 636 274 1988 656 173 1979 517 88 1989 711 336 1980 637 140 1990 592 315 1981 596 192 1991 264 161 1982 470 224 1992 178 123 1983 383 78 1993 49 46 1984 425 213 1994 5 4 1985 703 219 1995 3 2

(Chen W.Z. 1997)

Table 15. Comparison of length at age of S. japonicus for the East China Sea stock and the northern-South China Sea stock

Stock Age 1+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+

South China Sea Average 178.6 226.8 255.6 286.8 315.6

East China.Sea Range 270-290 270-350 280-410 330-430 340-450

(Zhang J.S., 1980) Table 16. Age composition of catches for Japanese Spanish mackerel (%)

Age Year

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Average Age

1950’s 5 66 40 88 21 59 21 59 7 34 1 89 1 05 2 941960’s 3.12 69.42 17.82 7.42 1.17 0.65 0.40 2.401970’s 12.07 74.54 9.10 3.59 0.47 0.21 0.02 2.061980 16.20 64.79 11.28 6.13 1.17 0.43 2.131981 65.11 27.58 2.99 1.56 0.48 2.28 1.521982 54.88 32.52 7.07 4.50 0.39 0.64 1.651983 58.74 26.25 10.17 3.20 0.66 0.90 0.08 1.641984 44.86 24.61 16.12 11.58 1.37 1.46 2.041985 34.16 34.73 15.08 10.50 2.86 2.29 0.38 2.221986 25.82 52.91 13.42 6.08 1.27 0.25 0.25 2.06

(Wei C., 1991)

47

Table 17. The calculated mortality for Japanese anchovy

Year Dec.1985 (billion)

Dec.1986 (billion)

survival rate e-M

mortality rate 1-e-M

Natural mortality (M)

1986 1401985 153 116 0.75 0.25 0.281984 178 45 0.25 0.75 1.391983 83 2 0.02 0.98 3.731982 1 0

1985-1982 415 163 0.40 0.60 0.90 (Zhu D.S., 1991)

Table 18. Investigated biomass of Japanese anchovy in 1985-1988

Date Investigated areas Stock size in 000 tonnes 1985.1 30o00’-36o00’N, 122o00’-126o00’E 2,100

1986.1 29o30’-36o30’N, 122o00’-126o30’E 2,800

1986.12 35o00’-39o30’N, 122o00’-125o00’E 2,000

1887.11 33o30’-39o00’N, 121o00’-124o45’E 2,820

1988.11 33o30’-39o00’N, 121o00’-125o00’E 2,820 (Zhu D.S., 1991)

48

Table 19. The Major Pollutants Discharged into Bohai and Yellow Seas (Unit: tonnes/year)

Pollutants Bohai Sea Yellow Sea Total

COD 594 855 1 305 441 1 900 296oil 28,314 23,193 51,507N 25,636 19,120 44,756

As(arsenic) 3,942.18 313.25 4,355.43cyanide 1,842.60 693.44 2,536.04Zn(zinc) 598.8 610.40 1,209.20volatile phenol 137.28 268.20 405.48Cr 78.86 304.20 194.48Pb(lead) 74.00 122.97 383.06Cu(copper) 82.75 111.73 196.97Cd(cadmium) 30.49 10.71 41.20Hg(mercury) 17.10 10.07 27.17

Total 655,609.06 1,350,198.97 2,005,808.03 (Wei X.H. and Tong J.A., 1993) Table 20. Contaminants accumulated in the body of fishes, crustacean and shellfishes for Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea

Sea Organism Cd Pb Cu Zn 666 DDT

Bohai Fishes 0.12-9.2 0.19-1.07 0.2-1.08 4.4-22.6 0.04-0.20 0.004-.151 Bohai crustacean 0.025-5.0 0.25-4.9 0.35-16.3 2.7-1.3 0.003-0.114 0.0015-0.080Bohai Shellf-fish 1.02-20.33 7.39 0.2-11.7 4.4-96.9 0.03-0.35 0.001-0.357

YYellow Fishes 0.26 0.71 6.9 10.5 0.006-0.014 0.008-0.36 Yellow Crustacean 0.93 1.7 9.5 52 0.001-0.95 0.017-0.41 Yellow Shell-fish 1.02-7.88 1.5 11 13.1 0.001-0.21 0.002-0.40

(Wei X.H. and Tong J.A., 1993) Table 21. Trend in number of species in Qingdao Bay

Organisms 1963-1964 1974-1975 1977-1979 1980-1981 1987-1989

Coelenterata 2 1 0 1 2

Polychaeta 41 3 8 2 4

Mollusca 40 11 12 10 10

Crustacean 52 13 3 4 6 Echinodermata 3 1 1 0 0

Others 2 1 1 0 2

Total 141 30 24 17 24 (Wei X.H. and Tong J.A., 1993)

49

Table 22. Average annual pollutants discharge into Hangzhou Bay and Southern Zhejiang province for 1989 (Unit: tonnes)

Pollutants Hangzhou Bay Southern Zhejiang

COD 2 278 000 55 000Oils 35,758 4,493Zn 11,008 943Cu 10,681 305.8Al 8,953Pb 194.4

Hg 61 1.9

(Zhu D.K., 1994) Table 23. Metals and pesticide in the body of marine organism from different areas (Unit: 10-6

dry weight)

Area Organism Cu Zn Pb Cd 666 DDT

1 Fish 2.29 18.3 1.68 0.14 1 Crustacean 14.9 37.8 2.08 0.42 1 Molluscs 7.53 39.7 1.34 0.33 2 fish 4.31 21.2 0.78 0.26 0.42 0.27 2 Crustacean 14.0 28.2 0.68 1.24 2 Molluscs 88.8 215 1.12 0.57 2 Polychaeta 19.7 38.2 3.66 0.13 3 Fish 2.16 16.9 0.92 0.15 0.01 0.03 3 Crustacean 9.60 27.4 2.16 0.53 3 Molluscs 4.96 21.5 1.43 1.25 3 Polytaeta 3.15 34.8 1.23 0.21 4 Fish 2.60 17.6 1.65 0.27 0.10 0.41 4 Crustacean 9.96 27.2 1.30 0.64 4 Molluscs 3.13 25.2 1.10 0.14 4 Polytaeta 3.83 37.0 2.46 0.65 5 Fish 1.52 15.5 0.05 0.01 0.01 0.01 5 Molluscs 22.3 75.9 0.59 2.08 area 1= The mouth of Yangtze River area 2= Hangzhou Bay area 3= North of the mouth of Yangtze River area 4= South of the mouth of Yangtze River area 5= Waters around Haijiao Island. (Dai G.L. et al.,1991)

50

Table 24. Metals in the Body Tissue of the Fish From Different Areas of Guangdong Province. Unit: 10-6 dry weight

Area Species Samples Cu Pb Zn Cd Cr Ni

1 11 119 2.53 1.36 27.52 0.16 1.00 0.57

2 5 40 3.15 1.27 49.28 0.27 0.99 0.64

3 15 169 3.80 0.72 21.42 0.08 1.07 0.71 area 1= eastern coast of Guangdong Province area 2= western coast of Guangdong Province area 3= in the mouth of Zhujiang River (Lu C.H.,1991)

51

APPENDIX I

List of Major Fishery Laws and Regulations a) 1955 - An order for the establishment of the closed area to trawling in Bahai Sea, Yellow

Sea and East China Sea issued by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China This inshore closed area extended northwards from 29o00’n to Bohai sea and varying distance east of the coast. in 1957, this closed area was extended 2o latitude to the south (to 27o00’n). b) 1975 - A Sino-Japanese Fishing Agreement The agreement deals with the following points: • six “Conservation” zones • seven close areas or “Protection” zones • closed seasons for operations in the above areas • mesh size specifications for fishing gears, as specified below :

(i) for trawlers: The minimum mesh size to be used in trawl cod ends and lengthener shall be 54 mm and in the trawl wings, 65 mm. The maximum cod end length shall be 200 meshes.

(ii) for light purse seine vessels: Minimum mesh size shall be 35 mm Minimum lengths for important fish species, viz.

- yellow croaker - 19cm - hairtail - 23cm (anal length) - mackerel - 22cm - scad - 18cm

maximum allowable percentage of juveniles in catches, viz. - for trawlers < 20% juveniles - for purse seiners < 15% juveniles

c) Feb.10, 1979 - Regulations for the protection of aquatic resource reproduction issued by

the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. d) March, 1979 - Water quality standard for fisheries issued by the Environment Protection

Leading Group of the State Council, the National Committee of Capital Construction of the People’s Republic of China, the National Committee of Economy of the People’s Republic of China and the General Fisheries Bureau of People’s Republic of China.

e) December 5, 1979 - Notification of the establishment of the fishing ports superintendent

system issued by the General Fisheries Bureau of the People’s Republic of China. f) December 18, 1979 - Temporary management of fishing licenses issued by the General

Fisheries Bureau of the People’s Republic of China. g) April 15, 1981 - Provisional regulations for fisheries resources conservation in the East

China Sea and Yellow Sea issued by the General Fisheries Bureau of the People’s Republic of China.

Specifically, the regulations provided for:

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• two conservation zones for juvenile fish: the first one to protect juvenile hairtail (and other

fish species), the area extending from 31o30’N to 34o00’N and eastward 30 nautical miles from the Inshore Closed Area line, with closure from August 1st to October 31st; the second to protect juvenile yellow croaker (and other species). The area is between 27o00’N and 29o00’N and eastward 30 nautical miles to the Inshore Closed line, where it is closed in January and February.

• closed seasons for the small-scale bottom trawling fishery. From July 1st to October 31st, all

small-scale bottom trawling boats from East China Sea should stay in the harbours, while from July 1st to August 31st, all small-scale bottom trawling boats from Yellow Sea should stay at harbours, with no fishing activities allowed.

• examination of the percentage of juvenile fish in the catches from state-owned fishing

vessels. The allowed catchable size for hairtail was 125 g body weight or 21 cm anal length. The percentage of juvenile fish in the catches should not be higher than 25%. The allowable size and percentage juvenile fish of other species can be controlled according to the provincial and municipal regulations.

• A closed season for set-net and pair trawler operation in all waters between 27o00’N and

34o00’N for at least two months during summer. Note that prawn trawlers are excluded. h) August 23, 1982 - The marine environment protection law of the People’s Republic of

China, issued by the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China.

i) August 2, 1983 - Regulations for the fishing activities and seasons on the main fishing

grounds in Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea and East China Sea issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries of the People’s Republic of China.

These regulations provided for restrictions on the number of fishing licenses to be issued and duration of closed seasons for certain species. j) October 31, 1983 - Temporary measures for the management of the marine fishing vessels

issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries of the People’s Republic of China.

k) December 29, 1983 - Management measures for the prevention of the pollution caused by

the vessels sailing in the sea waters of the People’s Republic of China, issued by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China.

l) May 11, 1984 - Prevention and control of water contamination law of the People’s

Republic of China, issued by the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China.

m) January 20, 1986 - The fisheries law of the People’s Republic of China issued by the

Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China. n) October 20, 1987 - Detailed regulations for management of fisheries under the 1986

Fisheries Law issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries of the People’s Republic of China.

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Penalties for violation of the law were prescribed. Thus, various rules and regulations previously issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries become firmly established in the law. o) May 10, 1988 - the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries issued

Notification for the establishment of a conservation zone for spawning hairtail in the East China Sea.

This zone extends from 28o30’N to 30o30’N and eastward from the Inshore Closed Area line to 124o30’E . The notice includes the period of closure. p) May 18, 1988 - Management measures for the prevention of environmental pollution

caused by scrapping old vessels, issued by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China.

q) October 31, 1988 - The No. 1 Order was issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry

of Finance and the National Commodity Prices Agency for the collection and usage of an “Aquatic Resource Proliferation and Conservation Fee”.

r) April 13, 1989 - the Ministry of Agriculture issued The No. 1 Order on the issuance of

fishing licenses. s) May 30, 1989 - the Ministry of Agriculture issued A notification on the protection of “high

value” fish (species names were listed including rare and/or endangered species). t) June 3, 1989 - A notification was issued by Bureau of Fisheries Management and Fishing

Ports Superintendent of the Ministry of Agriculture on the issue of power rating and identification certificates to motorized fishing vessels,

u) July 12, 1989 - Detailed regulations for the implementation of prevention and control of

water contamination law, issued by the State Council. v) October 27, 1989 - The No. 9 Order was issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and the

National Commodity Prices Agency for temporary measures for the collection and usage of “Aquatic Resources Proliferation and Conservation” fee for the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China Sea and the South China Sea.

w) December 13, 1989 - A notification for the approval of national water quality standard for

fisheries issued by the National Environment Protection Agency. x) January 22, 1990 - Penalties were ascribed for violations to the fisheries laws and

regulations in the East China Sea, issued by the Ministry of Agriculture. y) 1992 - Regulations for management of fisheries in the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea and East

China Sea for the period 1993 to 1997 issued by the Ministry of Agriculture. These regulations serve as supplement and amendment to earlier regulations. Details of these regulations are described in Appendix II.

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APPENDIX II

Fishing Regulations for the East China Sea, Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea for 1993 to 1997

The following regulations were issued in 1992 by the Ministry of Agriculture. FISHING REGULATIONS (i) Coastal Fishing Grounds (Inshore Closed Area) Bottom trawling is completely prohibited in this zone. All other fishing activities are to be arranged by the local Provincial Fisheries Bureaux . (ii) Offshore Fishing Grounds (1) Hairtail Winter Fishing Ground in the East China Sea The ground is located between the Inshore Closed Line and 125o00’E and between 27o00’N and 32o00’N. 3,346 pair-trawlers are licensed. Of these, 3,125 are for “private” trawlers and 221 are for the seven State owned fishing companies from three provinces below and Shanghai Municipality. Of the 3,125 “private” licenses: - 325 pairs for Jiangsu Province - 100 for Shanghai Province - 2,550 for Zhejiang Province - 150 for Fujian Province None of the 3,346 pair-trawlers may enter the Inshore Closed Area for Fishing. The licensed vessels may trawl for hairtail on the above winter fishing ground between November 1st to January 31st. (2) Bohai Prawn Fishing Grounds These grounds occupy the entire area of the Bohai Sea. The fishing season lasts three months from September 10th to December 10th. During this period, 15,000 prawn drift net vessels are licensed to operate, of which: - 6,700 vessels from Shandong Province - 5,300 from Liaoning Province - 2,200 from Hebei Province - 700 from Tianjin Province - 100 from Jiangsu Province The maximum allowable net length is 4,000 m and the maximum net depth is 9 m. (3) Large and Small Yellow Croaker and Pomfret Fishing Grounds

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The area is located between 32o00’N and 34o00’N and eastward to 122o30’E. The area is also known as the Lusi fishing ground. The area is closed for pair trawling between April 1st to July 31st (during the croaker spawning period). However, during the same period, 500 drift net vessels from Jiangsu Province and 80 vessels from Shanghai are licensed to enter to fish for pomfret. No other vessels are permitted to enter the area. The seasonal closure has been in place for the past 10 years, but the impact on the stocks is limited. (4) Large Yellow Croaker Southern Fishing Grounds These are located off Zhejiang and Fujian Provinces, extending 30 nautical miles east of the Inshore Closed Line between 27o00’N and 29o00’N. This area was established as a conservation area in April, 1981 (see above). The grounds are closed for trawling operations between January 1st and February 28th. The grounds have not been fished for many years because of the low abundance of fish. Management of this area is under the Zhejiang and Fujian Provincial Fisheries Bureaux by whom regulation is introduced whenever necessary. It was suggested that only driftnet and long-line vessels (anglers) be permitted to enter. (5) Zhejiang Inshore Fishing Grounds The area includes the inshore waters of Zhejiang Province and the mouth of the Yangtze River. In this area, 400 vessels from Fujian Province are licensed for long line fishing only during the period between July 16th and January 31st. (6) Taiwan Strait (Southern Fujian Province) The area is between 24o30’N and 27o00’N (also called Mindong Fishing Ground). Fishing on this ground is restricted to vessels from Fujian Province, although vessels from the neighbouring Municipalities and Counties of Zhejiang Province may be permitted to enter, on the basis of historical precedence. The ground is temporarily managed by the Fujian Provincial Fisheries Bureau. (7) Haizhou Gulf Fishing Ground on the Border of Shandong and Jiangsu Provinces The area extends ten nautical miles either side of the borderline between the two Provinces and it is jointly managed by the two Provincial Fisheries Bureaux who will also decide on the number of licenses to be issued to local vessels. Licenses issued by the two Provinces are eligible for both areas. Apart from the local licenses, 400 anchovy drift net vessels and 150 pomfret drift net vessels from Shandong Province are licensed to fish in the waters managed by Jiangsu Province.

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(8) State Owned Trawlers (over 250 HP) One hundred and forty pairs of sate-owned trawlers from the four northern Provinces are licensed to operate in the Offshore Fishing Area east of the Inshore Closed Area and west of the Far Offshore Closure Line. These licenses are issued by the East China Sea Fisheries Management Bureau but must be approved by the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea Provincial Fisheries Management Bureau and other relevant local Fisheries Bureaux. The distribution of the licenses for the 140 pair-trawlers is as follow: - 65 pairs from Shangdong Province - 54 from Liaoning Province - 7 from Hebei Province - 14 from Tianjin Province (9) Light Fishing (Purse Seine) Vessels There will be no limit on the number of light fishing vessels permitted to operate in the Offshore Fishing Area. (iii) Far Offshore Fishing Ground : (1) File-fish Fishing Season Four hundred and fifty pairs of trawlers are licensed to operate in this fishery with the distribution as follow : 265 pairs from the East China Sea Provinces 185 pairs from the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea Provinces (2) Seine Fishing. No limit on the number of light fishing vessels permitted to operate in the Far Offshore Fishing Area. MANAGEMENT AUTHORITIES (1) Duima, Wudao, Jizhou Island and the Far-offshore Fishing grounds of the East China

Sea

Duima, Wudao fishing ground filefish fishing season and the Jizhou Island fishing ground. The number of licenses to be issued for these specific grounds is decided by the BFM of the MoA together with the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea, the East China Sea or the South China Sea Fisheries Management Bureau (whichever is appropriate) but issued by the Regional Bureau on behalf of MoA. Far-offshore fishing ground of the East China Sea including the Diaoyu Island fishing ground. Fishing activities in this area is under the authority of the East China Sea Fisheries Management Bureau. But the number of licenses to be issued is decided by the BFM of the MoA and issued by the East China Sea Fisheries Management Bureau on behalf of the BFM of MoA.

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All vessels operating in the above fishing grounds, irrespective of their home ports must maintain contact with the Fisheries Bureaux or parent companies/organizations who in turn must maintain contact with appropriate Provincial Fisheries Bureaux responsible for the management of these fisheries. Chinese vessels violating fisheries laws are to be prosecuted by the Local Provincial authority responsible for implementing the particular regulation concerned? The MoA must be notified of any Chinese vessel fishing illegally operating in the waters of any other country.

(2) Offshore Fishing Grounds (i) The hairtail winter fishery in the East China Sea and the Bohai Sea autumn prawn fishery. The number of licenses to be issued is described above. The Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea and East China Sea Fisheries Management Bureaux carry out the actual issue of the licenses respectively with the assistance of the appropriate local fisheries Bureaux. (ii) Lusi fishing ground (the large and small yellow croaker and pomfret fishery). These grounds are mainly managed by the Jiangsu Province Fisheries Bureau, but also by the East China Sea Fisheries Management Bureau. Licenses are issued by the Jiangsu Province Fisheries Management Bureau. (iii) Unless otherwise specified in the Fishing Regulations, the policy for issuance of licenses for all fishing grounds is under the local authority in which a particular fishing ground is located, not in the Province from which the vessels originate. This is particularly relevant for vessels based in ports near to or fishing on ground, which cross provincial boundaries. (3) Bottom Trawling and Set-Net Closures (a) As well as following all regulations which apply to the Inshore Closed Area, in the area 30

nautical miles east of the Inshore Closed Line and between 27o00’N and 35o00’N:

• Bottom trawling is prohibited between August 1st and October 31st. • In the 5th and 6th Protection Zones, the number of vessels operating and the period of

their operation must be in accordance with the Sino-Japanese Fishing Agreement of 1975. • The MoA has agreed that the BFM will issue “some” licenses to State-owned fishing

vessels (above 600 HP) for pelagic trawling. Management of these vessels is vested with the relevant Regional Fisheries Management Bureau. The East China Sea and the Yellow and Bohai Sea Fisheries Management Bureaux stipulate criteria for the percentage of juveniles and species composition in the pelagic trawl catches. The MoA, then, approves these.

• Shrimp trawling (beam trawling) is permitted throughout the year. • Fishing will not be restricted in waters east of this zone but the percentage of juveniles in

the catch will still be inspected. (b) In the area north of 35o00’N latitude. The area will be closed to bottom trawling from July 1st to August 31st.

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(c) In the area between 24o00’N and 27o00’N latitude. Bottom trawling is prohibited for vessels below 250 HP for two months in the summer. The actual dates for the summer closure will be decided by Fujian Provincial Fisheries Management Bureau.

(d) In the area between 24o30’N latitude.

Closures in this area will be according to regulation in effect in the South China Sea. (e) Closures for set-net operations will not be less than two months duration and is decided by

the appropriate provincial management authorities. (f) The MoA can make any supplementary regulations for bottom trawling or set-net closures as

required. (4) Management of the Spawning Hairtail protection Area This area is located between 28o30’N and 30o30’N latitude and between the Inshore Closed line and 125o00’E longitude. The area is closed for pair trawling and other gears targeting on hairtail from May 1st to June 30th. The East China Sea Fisheries Management Bureau through the relevant Provincial Fisheries Management Bureaux manages the fishery. (5) Management of the Juvenile fish Protection Areas and Closed Areas (as established

under the Sino-Japanese Fishing Agreement of 1975) The 1st and 2nd Closed Areas is managed by the Yellow and Bohai Sea Fisheries Management Bureau in cooperation with relevant Provincial Fisheries Management Bureau; the latter provides assistance in the management of that part of the 2nd Closed Area that falls within that Province. The 3rd to the7th Closed Areas are managed by the East China Sea Fisheries Management Bureau in cooperation with the relevant Provincial Fisheries Management Bureaux. The Yellow and Bohai Sea and the East China Sea Fisheries Management Bureaux in cooperation with relevant Provincial Fisheries Management Bureaux jointly manage the 1st Protection Area. The East China Sea Fisheries Management Bureau in cooperation with relevant Provincial Fisheries Management Bureaux manages the 2nd to the 6th Protection Areas.

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Others The division between the Offshore and Far-Offshore Fishing grounds is as per the 14th Article of the previous regulations. Juvenile protection and closed areas are as described in the previous regulations. (6) Main management measures in the South China Sea (a) Inshore Closed Line

The Inshore Closed Line has been extended to the South China Sea since 1980 (Figure 1). Fishing Vessels with total power of 100 HP and above are not allowed to fish in inshore area inside the Inshore Closed Line throughout the year. To fish in this area, a special fishing license from the government is necessary.

(b) Protected Zone in the Xisha Archipelago area

The area bordered by the following five reference marks (111°15’E/17°30’N113°15’E/17°00’N; 112°45’E/15°45’N; 111°30’E/15°30°N; 110°45’E/15°30’N) is a “protected zone” from January through December. Fishing without license during this period is not permitted. To fish in this area, a special fishing license should be applied with specific information on the gear type and operation time.

(c) Protected zone in the Zhongsha archipelago area

The area bordered by the following seven reference marks (114°30’E/16°30’N;115°00’E/16°30’N; 115°15’E/16°00’N; 114°30’E/15°00’N; 114°00’E/15°00’N; 113°15’E/15°30’N; 113°30’E/16°00’N) is the protected zone from January through December. Fishing without license during this period is not permitted. To fish in this area, a special fishing license should be applied with specific information on the gear type and operation time.