Fishery Law Amendments Take EffectThe amended fishery law promulgated by the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee on October 31 went into effect Friday, December 1.The amendments to the 1986 fishery law aim to better protect aquatic resources by setting out new regulations on fishing permits and fish quantity, said Buhe, vice-chairman of the NPC Standing Committee said at a conference Friday. Over the past decade, some waters have been over-fished, or seriously polluted, and many offenders remained unpunished for the weak statutory definition of legal consequences, the senior lawmaker pointed out. "Now the new law aimed at countering such issues will play its due role," he said. According a Chinese diplomat at the conference, the new law is conducive to the protection of China's rights in its exclusive economic zones, to maintaining stable relations with neighboring countries at sea and to seeking greater space for China's offshore fishing industry. Statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture show that the total volume of China's aquatic products has been increasing by an annual rate of 13.2 percent from 7.05 million tons in 1985 to 41.22 million tons in 1999. The output of farm-bred aquatic products account for 58 percent of the total output of aquatic products, rising from 44 percent in 1986. China has more than 1,600 ocean liners for fishing in 30 territorial waters and open seas. |
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