Hainan’s maritime and other departments have joined forces to ensure safe operations for offshore aquaculture and fisheries in the South China Sea.

On August 16th, the three-and-a-half-month South China Sea fishing moratorium officially ended, and fishermen welcomed the long-awaited moment to resume fishing. In recent days, fishermen across Hainan have been busily organizing fishing nets and inspecting boats to fully prepare for the fishing season. Various places such as Haikou Rongshanliao, Sanya Yazhou, Lingao Wulian, and Qionghai Tanmen held diverse opening ceremonies in advance, featuring music parties, fireworks displays, environmental declarations, and intangible cultural heritage parades, pushing the fishing season atmosphere to a climax. At exactly 12 noon, the fishing order was issued, harbor whistles sounded, and fleets of fishing boats set out in succession, plowing white waves across the sea. They will join tens of thousands of fishing boats from Guangdong, Guangxi, and other regions, heading to the South China Sea fishing grounds to embark on a new round of "sea farming and fishing."

As tens of thousands of fishing vessels set out to sea, the density of maritime traffic has surged sharply. To ensure maritime traffic safety during the fishing season, the Hainan Maritime Safety Administration, in collaboration with multiple departments, has simultaneously launched the "2026 Escort Fishing Season Action." On the first day of the fishing season, the maritime authorities, together with rescue and fisheries departments, conducted joint patrol law enforcement, focusing on inspecting the navigation order of vessels in key waters, promptly correcting fishing activities that obstruct navigation, identifying safety hazards, and legally addressing violations such as failure to maintain proper watchkeeping. Additionally, the maritime authorities have made full use of the island-wide VTS system to broadcast navigation safety information, strengthened inspections of commercial and fishing vessels, provided "one-on-one" information services for key vessels, and implemented control measures such as staggered navigation, timed navigation, and traffic restrictions during peak periods of fishing vessel departures. These measures aim to guide commercial vessels to bypass coastal public waterways, creating safe passage for fishing fleets. It is reported that to ensure the safety of life and property for drivers and passengers crossing the Qiongzhou Strait, Qiongzhou Strait passenger roll-on/roll-off transport was temporarily suspended at 5:00 PM on August 16 and resumed operations at 5:30 AM on August 17.

The relevant person in charge of the Hainan Maritime Department introduced that as early as one month before the fishing season began, the maritime department had launched safety education and publicity. Through various forms such as "face-to-face" communication with captains, bringing water safety knowledge to fishing villages, distributing safe navigation manuals, and high-frequency radio broadcasts, they educated the majority of fishermen on navigation safety knowledge, maritime collision avoidance rules, and emergency self-rescue skills.

Starting today, the South China Sea officially enters the busy autumn fishing season. Currently, the maritime authorities have coordinated the deployment of 14 patrol vessels and 1 professional rescue vessel to participate in fishery protection operations. Emergency response forces have been simultaneously stationed, and the 2026 Fishing Season Escort Operation will run throughout the fishing season. Maritime, rescue, and other departmental forces will maintain regular presence in key waters of the South China Sea to ensure fishermen can safely set sail and return with full harvests. The maritime authorities call on all vessels engaged in maritime operations to strictly adhere to watchkeeping requirements, comply with navigation regulations, enhance lookout duties, and maintain effective communication. The "2026 Fishing Season Escort Operation" will continue to focus on key waters and critical aspects, striving to prevent and mitigate collision risks between commercial and fishing vessels, and effectively safeguard the safety of maritime operations and the lives and property of the people.