Pingtan's government authorities launched a surprise crackdown on illegal fishing on July 4, during off season.

The crackdown was jointly organized by local departments of border defense, the fishery administration and marine surveillance in Pingtan, East China's Fujian province.

More than 20 law enforcers started surveillance on waters off the county at 1:00 am Friday morning. After an eight-hour patrol, they caught six boats engaging in illegal fishing activities.

Operation licenses of the violating boats and as many as 50 kilograms of fish were confiscated by law enforcers. A further investigation is under way, said insiders.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Micheal Thai