WUHAN, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Central China's Hubei Province will permanently ban fishing in 83 nature reserves in the Yangtze basin this year to restore the ecosystem of the river.

The ban has already been implemented on 10 aquatic nature reserves as of Jan. 1, and the others will be added by the end of 2018, according to provincial fisheries department.

The department has set up inspection teams to oversee the implementation of the ban.

The wildlife population in the Yangtze river has declined in recent years, leaving many species on the verge of extinction.

The stock of Yangtze's four species of domestic carp has plunged by 97 percent since the 1950s. The annual fish catch in the river has dropped to less than 100,000 tonnes from more than 400,000 tonnes some 60 years ago.

In 2003, China started imposing an annual three-month fishing ban on the Yangtze and extended the period to four months in 2015.