More than 10.8 million large yellow croaker fry are released into the sea around Dachen Island, administered by Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang province, on June 6. [Photo/taizhou.com.cn]

More than 10.8 million large yellow croaker fry were released into the sea around Dachen Island, administered by Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang province, on June 6. A "fry" refers to the developmental stage of certain animal after they hatch from an egg.

This marks the first municipal release of its kind for the year and is expected to help revive the local vulnerable fish population while enabling sustained economic growth for the fishing industry in the area.

Taizhou has set a target of releasing 320 million fish fry into the sea, with an investment of 11 million yuan ($1.54 million). Approximately 130 million fry of five species, namely large yellow croaker, hard clam, inkfish, bighead, and Chinese softshell turtle, will be released in areas including Jiaojiang River and Dachen Island.

Mou Shengchen, an official at the Taizhou Municipal Administration of Port and Fishery, said that the release of fry will aid in achieving the targets outlined by the provincial government, with Taizhou having released over 1.6 billion fish fry in the past three years, exceeding its target by 78 percent.