明初，江浙地區在海禁政策下，漁船不得出海捕魚。由於此舉對生計造成妨礙，故漁民仍常違禁出海。至十六世紀初，朝廷開始有條件放寬，准許單桅漁船在沿海補魚。這樣的政策一度因嘉靖中葉（1540年代）的倭寇而中止，但在嘉靖三十七年（1558），官方准許雙桅以下漁船，編成海上漁甲、繳納出海漁稅，在東海上從事捕撈。萬曆二年（1574）以後，漁甲組織進一步細緻化，由下而上層層節制，軍事化的傾向愈益濃厚。在萬曆三十九年（1611），官方還禁止漁船越界至它省海域捕魚。伴隨著管制措施逐步放寬，江浙海洋漁業日益擴張，至明代後期達到極盛。其中，冷凍漁船載著大量的海產入港，為沿海居民帶來飽嚐海鮮的機會。但至清初，因鄭氏政權不斷騷擾東南沿海，清廷逐漸加強出海管制，康熙二年（1663）並於海邊樹立界牌，全面禁止百姓穿越，自是海鮮貨源斷絕，百姓也無海魚可吃。

In the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, fishing was prohibited near Jiang-su and Zhejiang provinces by intense restrictions for the policy of maritime interdiction. This restraint caused serious hardships for survival; thus, fishermen would go fishing regardless of breaking the law. Until the beginning of the 16th century, the government began to conditionally permit only single-mast fishing boats to fish in the coastal area. Though this regulation was once terminated due to Japanese pirates’ activities in the 1549s, in 1558 the government allowed double-mast or smaller fishing boats to develop a self-defense and fishery taxation system for fishing near the East China Sea. After 1574, the self-defense marine-fishing boat organization became more elaborate; a bottom-to-top systematic control and militarization became heavily emphasized. In 1611, the government even forbade fishing in waters of other provinces. Following gradual relaxation of restrictive policies, the fishing industry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces managed to prosper and reached its prime towards the end of the Ming Dynasty. Among others, coastal inhabitants in enjoyed opportunities to savor seafood brought in by fishing boats equipped with cold storage. However, the policy changed during the Qing Dynasty, and Qing government began to limit marine fishing again, this time even more forcefully. And, in 1663, borders along the coastline were set up to forbid inhabitants to trespass. Thus, the seafood supply was halted and people had no seafood to eat.