Fishermen unload baskets of seafood at a fishing port in Qidong, a county-level city of Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province. [Photo/WeChat account: qdrmt0513]

After a three-month fishing ban and a typhoon delay, 669 fishing boats from Qidong finally sailed out to sea on Aug 6 and came back with a huge catch on Aug 7.

Lyusi Fishing Port in Qidong was bustling with activity as baskets of fresh seafood, mainly swimming crabs and golden hook shrimps, were unloaded and shipped to seafood markets.

"We caught nearly 1,500 kilograms of seafood, mainly swimming crabs. In order to ensure the freshness of the crabs, we returned on the morning of Aug 7," said boat captain Zhang. After unloading the seafood and replenishing supplies, Zhang set sail again.

Xu Hongying, head of Nantong Guoan Aquatic Products Co Ltd, said that the output was comparable to previous years. The company had 17 fishing boats operating at sea, four of which returned with 10,000 kg of sea creatures.

The three-month fishing ban was hard on coastal residents who love fresh seafood. The swimming crabs that came ashore were quickly snapped up by vendors who had been waiting early, and were generally sold at 25 yuan ($3.46) per kg. The fresh seafood will also be transported to Shanghai, Zhejiang and other places.