FAO.org

China’s surface waters cover 20.6 million ha. The aquatic living resources in these waters not only sustain wild natural fishery production, but also support fish production based on stock enhancement and aquaculture. Most inland capture fisheries are concentrated in the major rivers and lakes, whereas reservoirs are dominated by enhanced fisheries. In 2020, the national freshwater fishing output was 1.46 million tonnes, which was a decrease of 20.84 percent from the previous year. Since 2005, the output value of freshwater capture fishing and aquatic products in China has exceeded CNY 20 billion, reaching a peak of CNY 46.577 billion in 2018.With increasing economic development, the role of inland capture fisheries in the social economy has changed. Since the 1990s, there has been a gradual increase in aquaculture and since 2010 a gradual decrease in inland capture fishery production. With the issuance of various fishing ban policies and the strengthening of enforcement actions, especially the implementation of the “10-year fishing ban” on the Yangtze River and the fishing ban on major lakes, inland capture fisheries production has dropped sharply since 2016 and this development is expected to continue due to the increased awareness of the need for ecological protection in large waterbodies, the implementation of the fishing ban policy and the strengthening of law enforcement. However, even though aquaculture production has massively increased and provides the bulk of freshwater fish supply, high-quality aquatic products from natural waters are still highly sought after by consumers.