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 16, 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 fishing opening ceremonies were held in advance in places such as Haikou Rongshanliao, Sanya Yazhou, Lingao Wulian, and Qionghai Tanmen. Music parties, fireworks displays, environmental declarations, and intangible cultural heritage parades brought the fishing season atmosphere to a climax. At exactly 12 noon, the fishing order was issued, the whistles of fishing ports sounded, and fleets of fishing boats set out in succession, plowing white waves on 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 begin a new round of "ocean farming and fishing."

As tens of thousands of fishing boats set out to sea, the density of maritime traffic surged sharply. To ensure maritime traffic safety during the fishing season, the Hainan Maritime Safety Administration, in collaboration with multiple departments, simultaneously launched the "2026 Escort Fishing Action." On the first day of fishing, 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 boats obstructing navigation, identifying safety hazards, and lawfully addressing violations such as failure to comply with duty regulations. Additionally, the maritime authorities 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 measures such as staggered navigation, time-based navigation, and traffic control during peak times of fishing boat departures. These measures guided commercial vessels to bypass coastal public waterways, creating safe channels for fishing fleets. It is reported that, to ensure the safety of lives and property of drivers and passengers crossing the Qiongzhou Strait, the 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.

A relevant official from the Hainan Maritime Safety Administration explained that as early as one month before the start of the fishing season, the maritime authorities had initiated safety education campaigns. Through various methods such as "face-to-face" exchanges with captains, introducing water safety knowledge to fishing villages, distributing safe navigation manuals, and broadcasting high-frequency safety announcements, they educated fishermen on navigation safety knowledge, maritime collision avoidance rules, and emergency self-rescue skills.

Starting today, the South China Sea has officially entered the busy autumn fishing season. Currently, the maritime authorities have coordinated the deployment of 14 patrol vessels and 1 professional rescue ship to participate in the fishing escort operation, with emergency duty forces simultaneously in place. The "2026 Escort Fishing Action" will run throughout the entire fishing season, with maritime, rescue, and other departmental forces maintaining a constant presence in key waters of the South China Sea to ensure the safe departure and full return of fishermen. The maritime authorities urge all vessels engaged in maritime operations to strictly adhere to duty requirements, comply with navigation regulations, enhance watchkeeping, and maintain effective communication. The "2026 Escort Fishing Action" will continue to focus on key waters and critical aspects, striving to prevent and mitigate the risk of collisions between commercial and fishing vessels, and effectively ensuring the safety of maritime operations and the lives and property of the people.