WUHAN -- More than 50 million fries have been poured into rivers and lakes in central China's Hubei Province, in a bid to increase the fish stocks.

"The scheme was carried out in the fishing ban period from April to June. By then all the 50 million fries of silver carp, variegated carp and grass carp have been put into the lake," said an official with the provincial fishery department on Sunday, end of the fishing ban.

The province imposed the fishing ban in the hope of protecting the ecological environment of the lake and ensuring the sustainable development of the local fishing industry, the official said.

The fishing-ban area include 1,062 km section of the Yangtze River in Hubei, whole section of the province's local river Hanjiang River, and the reservoirs of Lushui, Huiding Gaoguan and Wuling, which have a wealth of aquatic species and attracts many rare migratory birds. They are also major providers of freshwater aquatic products for the province.

But in recent years, the rivers and lakes experienced overfishing, water pollution and illegal sand-digging. The polluting industries surrounding the lake have also posed threats to its ecological environment.