China to release 200,000 Chinese sturgeon into Yangtze River today

172
1
China to release 200,000 Chinese sturgeon into Yangtze River today

A Chinese sturgeon is released into the Yangtze River in Yichang, Central China's Hubei province on March 25, 2023. PHOTO WUHAN China will release 200,000 Chinese sturgeon into the Yangtze River, the country's longest river, starting Saturday, as part of its efforts to protect the rare fish.

The first batch of 100,000 fish was released in Yichang city of Hubei province on Saturday, with two more batches to follow, said China Three Gorges Corporation, noting that it has conducted the release every year since 1984.

The Chinese sturgeon is one of the most ancient vertebrate species on earth and is under Class-A protection in China, with a history of 140 million years. The fish are protected by artificial breeding and released into the natural environment.

Sturgeon released this year are between six months and 14 years old, a design designed to promote the restoration of the wild population, said Jiang Wei, chief engineer of the company's research center for the species.

Before the release, larger sturgeon nearing sexual maturity were branded with satellite tracers that were used to analyze environmental impacts on the species' survival in the wild in order to inform future protection measures.

In recent years, China has put a lot of effort into ecological conservation along the Yangtze River, with a 10 year fishing ban in pivotal waters along the river at the beginning of 2021.

ALSO READ: Water discharged into Yangtze to fight drought

In December 2020, China promulgated the Yangtze River Protection Law, which provides a legal guarantee for biodiversity conservation in the river.