On April 9, 2022, over 200 thousand Chinese sturgeons were released into the Yangtze River with the number of large-sized Chinese sturgeons released hitting a record high by China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG), one of IAHR’s institute members, as part of its effort that aims at replenishing the wild stocks of the rare fish and is supported by IAHR.

Credit: Xingliang Zhou and Dikang Liu

The activity was jointly organized by the Yangtze River Basin Fishery Supervision and Administration Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Hubei Province, Yichang Municipal Government, and China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG). The Chinese sturgeons released this time were all second-filial-generation (F2) Chinese sturgeons bred and cultivated by CTG since 2009. It was a continuation of the scientific approach of combining “middle-aged, young, and juvenile” fishes, with the oldest ones being 13 years old and the youngest ones being six months old. The number released saw a significant increase as compared to those in previous years. “Under the backdrop of the first anniversary of the Yangtze River Protection Law and the ten-year fishing ban, this release activity will create favorable conditions for continuously deepening the conservation of the Yangtze River and facilitating the restoration of the natural Chinese sturgeon population. It is a concrete action of great significance to assisting the conservation of aquatic biodiversity in the Yangtze River,” said Lei Mingshan, Board Chairman of CTG.

Credit: Xingliang Zhou and Dikang Liu

Dating back 140 million years, the Chinese sturgeon is one of the oldest vertebrates on Earth and a flagship species in the protection of rare fishes in the Yangtze River. Dubbed “a living fossil” and “the Chinese giant panda in water,” it has great value in scientific research, ecology, and more.

Students from the China Three Gorges University participated in this event. Fang Manqin, one of the student volunteers said: “Releasing Chinese sturgeon means a lot to biodiversity protection. It’s a great honor for me, someone growing up here in Yi Chang, to contribute my part to our mother river.” An international student also expressed her feeling: “I was quite moved for being able to release the sturgeon with my own hands. In my opinion, protecting Chinese sturgeon is also part of the Yangtze River conservation.”

CTG adheres to ecological priority and green development. It has been dedicated to the protection and research of Chinese sturgeon and other rare endemic fishes in the Yangtze River. In the past 40 years, the Chinese Sturgeon Research Institute of CTG has been engaging in continuous scientific research for breakthroughs in breeding, larvae cultivation, and growth regulation technologies for the development of the captive-bred Chinese sturgeon population. After becoming the first to achieve a breakthrough in the full artificial propagation of F2 Chinese sturgeon, it has successfully completed the large-scale cultivation of 250 thousand larvae, providing effective means for the restoration of Chinese sturgeon through artificial release.

Artificial propagation and release is a key measure in the protection of fish species, achieving the continuation of fish germplasm and continuous supplementation of wild resources through artificial technical means. The Chinese Sturgeon Research Institute of CTG has conducted 65 Chinese sturgeon release activities in succession since 1984, releasing close to 5.3 million Chinese sturgeons in total. To increase the scale of releases and mitigate the negative impact of declining wild resources on the multiplication of the Chinese sturgeon population, “CTG has stepped up efforts to protect Chinese sturgeon in recent years, investing CNY 360 million to build the Yangtze River Rare Fish Conservation Center. We have built the largest echelons of the captive-bred Chinese sturgeon population in China, which effectively supports the protection of the Chinese sturgeon species. In particular, faced with the current situation of critically endangered wild Chinese sturgeon population due to difficulties in propagation, releases backed by a captive-bred population are beneficial to the multiplication and restoration of the Chinese sturgeon population,” said Lei Mingshan.

Credit: China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG)

Chinese sturgeon individuals are large in size, with long migration routes and a complex life cycle. 90% of its life cycle is spent in the ocean, however, little is known about its condition during its oceanic life cycle. Focusing on independent innovation, CTG has been seeking scientific breakthroughs in such fields as release tracking and oceanic life cycle research on the foundation of conducting research on breeding, growth regulation, and population management technologies, in a bid to form all-around support for the protection of Chinese sturgeon. This year, researchers will continue to monitor the migration of Chinese sturgeon along the Yangtze River and the activities of Chinese sturgeon in the ocean with a two-pronged approach, so as to estimate the distribution of Chinese sturgeon in inshore coastal waters of China and analyze the main environmental factors affecting its survival and activities in the wild. The research will provide the scientific basis for the proposal of subsequent decisions to protect Chinese sturgeon.

In 2022, with the support from competent authorities at various levels including the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and Hubei Provincial People’s Government, CTG took the lead to conduct basin-wide release of Chinese sturgeon in conjunction with relevant Chinese sturgeon conservation organizations in China. It aims to pool Chinese sturgeon conservation efforts and facilitate the restoration of wild Chinese sturgeon resources by taking advantage of the window of opportunity brought about by the ten-year fishing ban in the Yangtze River.

The release was also supported by the British Consulate-General in Wuhan, Center for International Knowledge on Development, International Hydropower Association (IHA), International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR), The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Global Environmental Institute (GEI).