BEIJING - A national standard will be drafted that limits pollutant discharge into the sea as part of a campaign to protect the fragile maritime environment, a top administrator said.

Local regulations in coastal provinces are the only code of conduct currently covering marine pollution and this underlines the urgency of a national standard, Liu Cigui, head of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), told China Daily.

"A healthy marine bio-system depends, largely, on reducing the amount of pollutants from the land," Liu said.