CHENGDU, April 11 (Xinhua) -- When Han was caught fishing illegally a few months ago, he was trying to catch fish with electric devices in the Minjiang River in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

On Tuesday, Han was ordered to release 10,000 fish fry into the river, a tributary of the Yangtze, China's longest river.

The fish release was part of the punishments handed out to him by a local court in Meishan City.

In the past few years, Han, a resident of Meishan's Chundian Village, often steered a boat and snuck into the Minjiang River during the wee hours of the night to catch fish illegally, even during the local government's fishing ban period.

Han's wood boat has an electric engine and a voltage transformer. By releasing high-voltage electricity into the water beneath, the wild fish would either die or pass out. The fish would then float on the water for Han to pick them up easily.

Authorities said this method of fishing is detrimental to the fish's survival, especially during fishing bans, when fish in the river are reproducing. The electricity deprives the fish of their reproduction abilities, while also damaging the eco-system there.

After Han was caught, he was sentenced to five months in prison, with an eight-month reprieve. To help make up the environmental damage, Han was also ordered to release fish fry into the river.

The Minjiang River, alongside other rivers in Sichuan, flows into the Yangtze and directly impacts the eco-system in China's longest river.

In the past, local courts usually fined illegal fishermen, which did nothing to improve the eco-system.

In recent years, some courts in China have come up with innovative ways to compensate for the damages, such as ordering illegal fishermen to release fish or ask illegal loggers to grow "remorse forests."

"So far, courts in 21 cities or prefectures in Sichuan have come up with similar means to crack down on environment-related crimes," said Bai Zongzhao, with the Sichuan Higher People's Court.

Bai said that such punishments will help restore the environment while also teaching the offenders a good lesson.

Han, the illegal fishermen, said while releasing the fish fry that he would never violate the law again.