Fishing Ban Ends on Yellow River Shanxi Section

The four-month fishing ban on the Shanxi section of the Yellow River officially ended in August, allowing fishing activities to resume in the area, according to the Shanxi Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. The seasonal restriction, which ran from April 1 to July 31, was part of broader ecological conservation efforts to protect aquatic resources in one of China’s most important river systems.

A Critical Fishery Area

The Yellow River enters Shanxi Province and flows through four cities—Xinzhou, Lüliang, Linfen, and Yuncheng—covering 968.5 kilometers, nearly one-fifth of the river’s total length. The Shanxi section is recognized as an important fishery area in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, home to native species including Yellow River carp and Yellow River catfish.

During the ban period, all fishing operations except recreational angling were prohibited in the restricted areas, which included the main stem of the Yellow River in Shanxi, the Fen River, the Qin River, and their first-level tributaries. Authorities also prohibited the buying, transporting, storing, and selling of illegally caught fish, as reported by Guangming Daily.

Monitoring and Enforcement

Shanxi has developed a comprehensive “sky watch, water check, shore management” monitoring system to enforce fishing regulations. According to officials from the Shanxi Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, authorities cracked down on illegal activities during the ban, including electric/drug/blast fishing, illegal net fishing, and fishing-related “three-no” vessels—boats without proper registration, inspection, or licensing.

Fishery authorities, agricultural comprehensive law enforcement agencies, public security, natural resources, and market supervision departments conducted joint enforcement operations throughout the ban period. Criminal cases were referred to public security departments for prosecution, as detailed in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs policy framework.

Signs of Ecological Recovery

The conservation measures are yielding measurable results. Shanxi has released more than 5 million aquatic organisms into the Yellow River basin in recent years, including a significant stocking event in June 2025 when over 250,000 fish—including local red-eye fish and Ussuri catfish—were released into the river at Yongji City, as Xinhua reported.

Monitoring data shows fish species in the Shanxi section increased from 46 species in 2021 to 60 species in 2025. Rare native fish such as the Yellow River ide, big-nose gudgeon, and Qingxu small gudgeon—once difficult to find—can now be observed in both the main stream and tributaries of the river.

A Broader Conservation Framework

The Shanxi fishing ban is part of a larger national strategy for Yellow River conservation. In 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs significantly expanded the Yellow River fishing ban system, extending the ban period from three to four months for most sections and implementing year-round bans in the river’s source areas and key upstream waters through 2025.

The adjustments were driven by central government directives emphasizing that ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin constitute a major national strategy. The overall decline trend of Yellow River aquatic biological resources had not been fundamentally reversed, prompting more aggressive conservation measures.

These efforts are showing results across the basin. The Yellow River knife fish has returned to the Shandong section after disappearing in the 1990s, Yellow River catfish populations have recovered in Ningxia after near-extinction, and water quality in the main stem has improved significantly, with multiple sections now achieving Class II quality standards, as noted by the Government of China.

What to Watch

As fishing resumes on the Shanxi section, authorities will need to balance economic interests with continued ecological protection. The success of the ban period—demonstrated by the recovery of native fish species—suggests that seasonal restrictions will remain a cornerstone of Yellow River conservation policy.

Looking ahead, the challenge will be ensuring that resumed fishing activities remain sustainable and that the gains achieved during the ban period are not lost. The joint enforcement mechanisms and monitoring systems developed in Shanxi will likely continue to play a critical role in safeguarding the river’s aquatic ecosystem for years to come.