Fish, including Chinese sea bass and baby croaker, caught by the gang in July last year

Nine people were sentenced to between six and 10 months behind bars for illegal fishing in the Yangtze River and East China Sea, the Shanghai Railway Transport Court said on Monday.

A 10-year fishing ban in 332 key areas of the river came into effect at the beginning of last year to protect biodiversity. The use of trawl nets in the East China Sea is also forbidden from May 1 and August 1 every year.

Prosecutors said that in June last year, the main culprit in the case, surnamedZhang, used technology that could track the direction of the fishery watchdog’s boats before picking a safe spot to fish illegally.

Several fishermen helpedZhangcatch fish nearChongmingDistrict on July 12 using illegal trawl nets with mesh small enough to prevent even small fish from escaping. Others loaded the catch onto trucks to sell in other areas.

An illegal trawl net with small mesh used by the gang

Seven people were arrested over the following days and another two people gave themselves up two months later.

Over 90 boxes of aquatic products, weighing more than 600 kilograms, were seized by the police atZhang’spremises. They were worth nearly 26,700 yuan (US$4,070).

The court said the sentences were lenient because all nine people involved had pleaded guilty, bought various friesandset them free in the river and the sea to repair the ecological and environmental damage they had caused.

The arrests of nearly 60 people have been approved since the 10-year fish ban began and over 500 people in more than 300 illegal fishing cases have been sued, prosecutors said on Monday.