Beijing, Mar 1 (IANS): The annual fishing ban on China's rivers, that coincides with the spawning season, began on Thursday. It will last until June 30, authorities said.

The ban covers main streams, tributaries and lakes along the Yangtze, Huaihe, Minjiang and Pearl rivers, reports Xinhua.

Nearly 10,000 people and 1,000 vessels from 21 provincial regions will work to prevent illegal fishing and related activities during the moratorium.

Local governments will provide allowances to fishermen affected by the ban.

The fishing restriction aims to protect aquatic resources and biodiversity as over-fishing threatens resources, authorities said.

"The ban period covers the spawning season for most aquatic life in the rivers, which will boost aquatic resources and help maintain the ecological balance," said Chen Shi, an official in Jiangsu province.

The annual ban was initiated in 2002 on the Yangtze River, the country's longest, and on the Pearl River in 2011.

The ban was extended from three months to four in the Yangtze River in 2016 and in the Pearl River in 2017, in a bid to better protect fish resources.

The fishing ban has, to some degree, contained the deterioration of fishery resources along Chinese rivers, said Cheng Jianxin, a marine surveillance official.