Save the Sturgeons: Artificially-bred sturgeons released into Yangtze River

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China is trying to save endangered fish by releasing hundreds of artificially-bred sturgeons into the Yangtze River. Wild Chinese sturgeons are nearly extinct after dams and water projects blocked many of their spawning grounds. CGTN's Hu Chao has more.

These are Chinese sturgeons, a species that is more endangered than the panda. In the city of Yichang in Hubei Province, 500 artificially-bred sturgeons were released in the Yangtze River. These fish are as ancient as dinosaurs, and have existed for more than 140 million years. Nearly a thousand people from various organizations came to offer a hand in setting these creatures free.

YANG SHANG HONGYANG LOCAL STUDENT IN YICHANG "I think I will tell people around me that we shouldn't fish for Chinese sturgeons and that we should protect them."

The released sturgeons are aged between several months and nine years old. The largest one is over one meter long and weighs a whopping 23 kilograms. They're supposed to swim along the Yangtze River to the ocean and grow to sexual maturity. It often takes around ten years for them to mature. Once all grown up, they migrate back to the rivers to lay their eggs around the Gezhou Dam.

HU CHAO YICHANG, HUBEI PROVINCE "The Gezhou Dam was built in the 1980s. But unfortunately, it blocked the sturgeons from laying their eggs further upstream in the Yangtze River. Add to that effects of overfishing and pollution, and it's no surprise the sturgeon's numbers have plunged from over ten-thousand in the 1970s to around fifty in recent years."

In an effort to save the species, scientists at the Chinese Sturgeon Research Institute in Yichang, have made major technological breakthroughs in artificial breeding and reproduction. Since the 1980s, more than 5 million captive-bred sturgeons have been released to the Yangtze River. But experts say only dozens of them are now living in the wild.

PROFESSOR YANG YUANJIN, DEPUTY DIRECTOR CHINESE STURGEON RESEARCH INSTITUTE "Artificial reproduction is only a supplementary means to maintain the species. In fact, wild Chinese sturgeons are still on the brink of extinction."

Hu Chao, CGTN, Yichang, Hubei Province.