The Law on Protection of the Ocean Environment was promulgated
in 1982, amended in 1999 and put into effect in April 2000. The
amended law applies to the supervision and management of the ocean
environment; to the surveying, monitoring, assessing and conducting
of scientific research of the ocean environment, to construction
projects for control of ocean pollution, and to ending ocean
dumping pollution.?
The "Blue Sea Action Program" in the Bohai Sea, off the coast of
North China, which is one of the country's most populous and
developed areas, has made several restrictions on discharge of
wastes produced by marine oil (gas) fields and ships and ocean
dumping.
Today, 90 marine nature reserves (24 of them state-level) have
been established throughout China, These protect: marine shoreline,
estuary and island bio-environments of great value for science,
education, and natural history; endangered marine animals (e.g.
Chinese white-flag dolphin) and their habitats; and typical oceanic
eco-systems such as coral reefs and coastal wetlands.
