In a significant move to restore the wild population of the endangered Dabry's sturgeon, China has released more than 800,000 sturgeons bred in captivity into the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. This ambitious project was carried out by the China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) in Yibin, located in southwest China's Sichuan Province.
The Dabry's sturgeon, also known as the Yangtze sturgeon, is classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature since 2010 and enjoys first-class state protection in China. The species has faced a drastic decline in its natural population since the 1980s and has been unable to breed naturally since the year 2000.
To combat this decline, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs introduced the Yangtze River Sturgeon (Dabry's Sturgeon) Rescue Action Plan (2018-2035) in 2018. This initiative is complemented by the Yangtze River Protection Law, which became effective on March 1, 2021. This law marks China's first legislative effort focused on a specific river basin, enhancing the protection measures for Dabry's sturgeon and other rare or endangered species.
Qu Huantao, a specialist at a CTG rare fish breeding base, commented on the release, stating, \"The large-scale release of artificially bred sturgeons has supplemented the natural population of the Dabry's sturgeon. The CTG will continue breeding Dabry's sturgeon seedlings and conduct more releases, promoting the restoration of the species' natural population.\"
As of June 2024, CTG has successfully released over 24 million rare and endemic fish species into the Yangtze River basin, showcasing China's commitment to biodiversity and ecological restoration.
Reference(s):
China releases over 800,000 endangered sturgeons into Yangtze River
cgtn.com
