Effective crackdown helps curb illegal fishing along Yangtze River

BEIJING -- Illegal fishing activities in the waters of the Yangtze River have been curbed substantially after a national campaign targeting such practices was launched last year, China's top procuratorate said Friday.

According to the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), procuratorates of the 14 provinces and municipalities along the Yangtze River handled 5,331 cases and charged 8,464 people with illegal fishing of aquatic products, respectively surging by 120.4 percent and 104.5 percent from June last year when the campaign started.

The SPP also unveiled a group of cases that procuratorial organs have solved during the campaign.

These cases will provide a reference for procuratorial organs at all levels to grasp a better understanding of the relevant laws and policies and push the special operation further ahead, said a senior procurator of the SPP.

Jointly launched by the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the SPP and several other authorities, the three-year campaign aims to protect the country's longest river.