BEIJING - Excessive land reclamation from the sea poses a growing threat to oceanic ecology and aggravates coastal pollution, a top administrator has warned.

Sun Zhihui, head of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), said strict laws to protect arable land have prompted local authorities to resort to sea reclamation to meet growing land demand.

"China is experiencing a new wave of land reclamation in its coastal regions," he told China Daily.