Fujian fishing festival celebrates bounty of the sea

The First Fuqing Fishing and Marine Culture Tourism Festival kicked off in Shapu town, Fuqing city of East China's Fujian province on Saturday after the three-month fishing ban ended. 

Fishermen in China's southeastern provinces have started trawling. The festival organized programs such as breeding and releasing activities, a fishery carnival, a fishing banquet and a fishing competition in the outlying islands.

At the festival, volunteers released 200 million Japanese prawn larvae and 100,000 black snapper to express the commitment of the more than 50,000 town residents to ocean protection and their strong wish to pursue the harmony and common prosperity of the sea and humans.

Nearly 100 fishing boats lined up along the coast of Muyu Island in the morning when the festival kicked off. To the rhythm of drums, people danced with various fish models in their hands.

The sea dance is a famous intangible cultural heritage in Fuqing city. Fishermen dance and run around a campfire with fish models in their hands to pray for safety at sea and a good fishing harvest. Shapu is a coastal town, which boasts more than 4,667 hectares of sea and its coastline stretches 70 kilometers. The rich mudflats and offshore resources in Shapu town are suitable for all kinds of seafood breeding.

Recently, coastal Fujian has taken multiple measures, including hosting such public activities, to raise awareness that to love the ocean means protecting marine life and marine species' resources. 

Chen Jiadan in Fuzhou contributed to the story.