An annual three-month fishing ban on the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River came into effect on 1 April and will run until 30 June, said Hu Xuedong, deputy director of China Fishery Administration Commanding Centre. The ban stretches along 120km of the river, covering 10 cities and provinces, including Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi and Hubei.

A fishing ban on 110km of the upper reaches of the Yangtze started on 1 February and will run until 30 April.

The seasonal ban has been in place since 2002 and it aims to sustain fishery resources and improve the ecological environment of the river, which has been damaged by rapid industrial development.

In early April, thousands of fish were found dead in the Fujiang River in Tongnan county, Chongqing municipality, which a local environmental authority said was possibly connected with chemical pollution.