Frozen ice engrosses east China sea

The worst sea ice in nearly half a century off China's east coast is causing unprecedented damage. The Shandong government claims the province's fishing industry suffered losses of more than a billion yuan.

Ice covers a large part of the Bohai Sea off China's east coast. The affected area is getting larger.

Nearly 40 percent of the Bohai Sea is frozen - it hasn't been this bad in 30 years. The ice in some areas is 20 centimeters thick.

The ice is having an adverse effect on marine life, transport, fishing, and offshore mining in northeast China's Liaoning Province, north China's Hebei Province and Tianjin Municipality.

The ice closed 16 fishing harbors. Nearly 4,000 fishing boats have been trapped, meaning 100-thousand tons of fish and seafood did not make it to market.

The economic loss stands at a staggering 1 billion yuan or 150 million US dollars.

The sea ice appeared in early January along the coasts of the Bohai and Yellow Seas, as cold fronts pushed temperatures to minus 10 degrees Celsius.

The Shandong provincial marine and fishery department is sending groups to help fishermen avoid further problems.