The story appears on

Page A10

April 12, 2021

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

HomeNation

Captive sturgeon released in Yangtze

A total of 10,000 captive-bred Chinese sturgeon were released into the middle reaches of the Yangtze River on Saturday to help restore the fish鈥檚 wild population.

The released sturgeon, with a total weight of 13,130 kilograms, include both young and adults. Fishery authorities have tagged them to track their migration and monitor their activities. Sixteen sturgeon that are close to sexual maturity are carrying satellite-tracking receivers.

The release, which took place in the city of Yichang in central China鈥檚 Hubei Province was conducted jointly by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) and the local government.

Jiang Wei, chief engineer with the Chinese Sturgeon Research Institute of the CTG, said it is important to research the species鈥 migration, habitat and distribution to better help restore their natural propagation and ultimately enrich the wild population.

Nicknamed 鈥渁quatic pandas,鈥 Chinese sturgeon have existed for more than 140 million years. However, the population of the flagship species in the Yangtze plummeted in the late 20th century due to intrusive human activities.

Since 1984, Chinese experts have been conducting reintroduction events, including releasing captive-bred fry, to increase the wild population. So far, the CTG has released more than 5.04 million Chinese sturgeon into the Yangtze River.

A 10-year fishing ban was also launched in 332 conservation areas along the river at the beginning of 2020.


 

Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

娌叕缃戝畨澶 31010602000204鍙

Email this to your friend