A thousand sails head to sea, Lianyungang Maritime ensures safe navigation for the full opening of the fishing season.

On September 16, the East China Sea area welcomed the full opening of the fishing season. The Lianyungang Maritime Safety Administration's jurisdiction is expected to add 692 fishing vessels for offshore operations, in addition to the 2,210 fishing vessels already participating in licensed fishing earlier, bringing the total number of locally registered fishing vessels participating in offshore operations to nearly 3,000. To ensure the safe departure of fishing vessels and orderly navigation of merchant ships, the Lianyungang Maritime Safety Administration, in collaboration with local units and departments such as agriculture and rural affairs, launched a joint fishing protection operation to fully ensure maritime traffic safety during the fishing season.

On the eve of the fishing season, the Lianyungang Maritime Safety Administration proactively coordinated with departments such as agriculture, rural affairs, and meteorology to dynamically monitor the number of fishing vessels departing, their operating waters, and weather and sea conditions. They assessed risks related to concentrated vessel departures, nighttime navigation, and dense intersections of merchant and fishing vessels, refining traffic organization, on-site patrols, and emergency response measures. They continued to strengthen warning education for shipping companies and merchant ship crew members, conducted onboard reminders and crew duty inspections for high-risk merchant ships, and urged vessels to enhance lookout, maintain safe speeds, and ensure effective communication.

During the fishing season, the administration utilized VTS, smart maritime systems, AIS, and other tools to dynamically monitor changes in merchant and fishing vessel traffic flows, strengthened monitoring of key routes and high-risk waters, and guided merchant and fishing vessels to navigate in an orderly manner to reduce the risk of concentrated intersections. In collaboration with the East China Navigation Support Center Lianyungang Navigation Mark Office, Lianyungang Communication Center, and the East China Rescue Bureau Lianyungang Rescue Base, they conducted joint fishing protection operations, coordinating resources such as maritime patrol vessels, navigation mark support, communication services, and rescue helicopters to form a coordinated maritime patrol, shore-based supervision, and aerial support system. Relying on the Merchant and Fishing Vessel Joint Management Center, maritime and fisheries departments further enhanced information sharing, joint patrols, and coordinated responses, promptly correcting behaviors such as fishing operations obstructing navigation safety.

After the full opening of the fishing season, the collision prevention work between merchant and fishing vessels will shift from concentrated departure assurance to continuous dynamic management. Addressing the increasing cross-regional operations of fishing vessels from other provinces and the greater difficulty of handling incidents in distant offshore areas, the Lianyungang Maritime Safety Administration will continue to strengthen shore-based monitoring, inter-departmental notifications, and cross-regional coordination. They will focus on nighttime, adverse weather, and densely intersected waters of merchant and fishing vessels, enhancing patrol presence, safety reminders, and emergency standby efforts to ensure the continued stability of maritime traffic safety in the jurisdiction during the fishing season.