In April 2023, conservationists the world over watched as four Yangtze finless porpoises raised in captivity were released into the Yangtze River's Tian'ezhou Nature Reserve. Monitoring later showed they were very likely integrated into the natural population there.

The year before, China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs released the results of a survey of the species, showing a population of 1,249 compared with 1,012 monitored a half-decade earlier. The increase, amounting to an average annual growth rate of 4.3 percent, was widely welcomed.