GUANGZHOU: Nearly one third of the sea off Guangdong province is seriously polluted, a situation that threatens to harm economic development in the area.

A report from the oceans and fisheries administration of Guangdong released yesterday said millions of tons of pollutants last year were dumped into the offshore areas through estuaries in the Pearl River Delta.

"If the situation becomes worse in the future, it will have a far-reaching negative impact on the economic development of the Pearl River Delta, which is the economic powerhouse of south China," said Li Zhujiang, director of the provincial administration of oceans and fisheries.