Sanya City, Hainan Province, south China - Aug 17, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Aerial shots of fishing boats at Yazhou Central Fishing Port
2. Various of fishermen unloading seafood
3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Yang Hongde, fisherman (starting with shot 2/ending with shot 4):
"We have over a hundred trays of fish, about four to five thousand jin (about 2,000 to 2,500 kilograms), with more than 10 species of fish."
4. Various of seafood
5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Xu Linhao, fisherwoman (starting with shot 4):
"We returned with a full catch as soon as we went out to sea. Our business is getting better and better."
6. Aerial shot of seafood trading market
7. Various of sellers, buyers in market, seafood
8. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Wang Xiaofei, purchaser (ending with shot 9):
"We can sell the fish we purchase here anywhere in Hainan, like Sanya, Basuo and Qinglan."
9. Various of sellers, buyers in market, seafood
10. Aerial shots of fishing boats at port
11. Various of people loading seafood onto tricycles, departing from port
12. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) An Chuanjun, fourth-level chief staff member, Yazhou Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau (starting with shot 11/ending with shots 13-14):
"The first batch of 600 local small fishing vessels has returned to Yazhou Central Fishing Port, bringing in about 600 to 700 metric tons of catch. Compared with the period before the fishing moratorium, wholesale prices have dropped by an average of five to ten yuan (about 0.74-1.48 U.S. dollars) on Monday. As medium and large fishing vessels continue to return, seafood prices will drop further."
13. Fishing boats at port
14. Various of fishermen unloading seafood
15. Aerial shot of fishing boats at port, cityscape
16. Fishing boats at port

The first batch of fishing vessels from south China's tropical island province of Hainan began returning to port in the early hours of Monday, bringing the first fresh catch of the new fishing season, after the conclusion of the annual three-and-a-half-month summer fishing moratorium in the South China Sea.

The annual seasonal ban, which ran from May 1 to August 16, is intended to protect fishery stocks by restricting commercial fishing across designated waters.

At 7:00 on Monday, the first group of fishing boats returned to Yazhou Central Fishing Port in Sanya City of Hainan. Workers unloaded the freshest seafood from the first catch of the season in a relay.

"We have over a hundred trays of fish, about four to five thousand jin (about 2,000 to 2,500 kilograms), with more than 10 species of fish," said Yang Hongde, a Sanya fisherman.

"We returned with a full catch as soon as we went out to sea. Our business is getting better and better," said Xu Linhao, another Sanya fisherwoman.

At the seafood trading market, buyers had already been waiting early. Before the catch could even be unloaded from the trucks, it was snapped up and pre-ordered.

"We can sell the fish we purchase here anywhere in Hainan, like Sanya, Basuo and Qinglan," said Wang Xiaofei, a Hainan purchaser.

The first batch of catches mainly came from local small fishing vessels operating within 10 nautical miles of the coast.

The catch consisted mostly of high-quality wild marine fish such as mackerel, pomfret, grouper, hairtail and squid. As more fresh catches come ashore in large quantities, the local seafood market supply will continue to rise.

"The first batch of 600 local small fishing vessels has returned to Yazhou Central Fishing Port, bringing in about 600 to 700 metric tons of catch. Compared with the period before the fishing moratorium, wholesale prices have dropped by an average of five to ten yuan (about 0.74-1.48 U.S. dollars) on Monday. As medium and large fishing vessels continue to return, seafood prices will drop further," said An Chuanjun, a fourth-level chief staff member of the Yazhou Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau.