Anglers jailed for using live bait in protected area

Two anglers in China have been sentenced to prison for using live bait in a river section where fishing is banned.

The Mianyang Intermediate People's Court said in a social media post on Wednesday that one of the anglers, surnamed Liu, was sentenced to four months in prison, with a seven-month probation. His friend, surnamed Duan, was sentenced to three months in prison, with a six-month probation.

The court found that the two men had been fishing together in a section of the Zijiang River in Yanting, Sichuan province, when they were caught by police using live loaches as bait in October. The area is a protected fishing zone and the use of live bait is prohibited.

The pair netted nearly 42 kilograms of redfin culter, silver carp and mandarin fish.

The court said that the two men had pleaded guilty to the charges and had expressed remorse. They were also ordered to pay a compensation of nearly 12,000 yuan ($1,650) to buy fry to restore the fish population in the river.

The use of live bait is prohibited in many fishing places in China. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has explicitly banned the use of live fish and shrimp as bait in the Yangtze River. The Mianyang court said that live bait can significantly attract fish and pose a threat of overexploitation, therefore endangering the ecology.

According to the Criminal Law, the act of using banned methods, such as electrifying, poisoning or using explosives, to fish in water bodies where fishing is banned or during moratoriums constitutes a crime.