A new policy sets the minimum charge for filling sea areas at 300,000 yuan (USD 37,500) per hectare and a maximum of 1.95 million yuan per hectare, officials with the Ministry of Finance and State Oceanic Administration said.

The fees are the highest among all kinds of charges on using sea areas specified in the new rules and must be paid at one time, the People's Daily reported.

The previous regulation had required a minimum 1,500 yuan charge per year for each hectare of marine area occupied since 1993.

"Since China imposed strict curbs on land use, developers have turned to reclaiming land from the sea due to low charging standards," officials said.

"The surge of land reclamation involving large sea areas around the country not only misused limited oceanic resources but also damaged nearby environment," they said.

About 300 square kilometres of sea areas were filled each year from 2001 to 2005, an official with the State Oceanic Administration said.

Meanwhile, some coastal regions have cut the charges on using sea areas at will under the name of attracting investment, causing losses of state-owned resources, the report said.

The new policy has banned such operations, stating that the floor price for the bidding of the right to use sea areas must be put at or above the charging standard.