Aerial photo shows fishing boats sailing to the East China Sea in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 16, 2020. Fishing boats departed from ports in Zhejiang Province at noon on Wednesday, marking the end of the four-and-a-half month summer fishing ban in the East China Sea. (Photo by Yao Feng/Xinhua)

NINGBO, Sept. 16  -- More than a thousand fishing boats departed from the Shipu Port in east China's Zhejiang Province at noon on Wednesday, marking the end of the four-and-a-half month summer fishing ban in the East China Sea.

Local fishery authorities have cleaned up and dredged shipping channels in the Shipu Port and carried out safety inspections on fishing boats and crew members.

China's summer fishing ban, starting on May 1 annually, is part of China's efforts to protect marine fishery resources and the ecological environment.

No fishing activities were allowed in the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the waters north to 12 degrees north latitude of the South China Sea during the moratorium period.