China Three Gorges Corp breeds 800,000 Yangtze sturgeon fry in 2023

(ECNS) -- Some 800,000 Yangtze sturgeon hatchlings were bred by China Three Gorges Corp (CTG) in 2023, setting a new record since the species was artificially bred in April 2019, the corporation said on Wednesday.

The breeding of Yangtze sturgeons of the Yangtze River Biodiversity Research Institute of CTG started at the beginning of April and was implemented at three experimental stations, including the Xiangjiaba, Yichang, and Three Gorges Experimental Stations.

In late April, the last batch of Yangtze sturgeon fry was successfully bred at the Three Gorges Experimental Station.

The Yangtze sturgeon, also known as Dabry's sturgeon, is the emblematic species of aquatic life in the Yangtze River, and is a unique wild animal under national first-class protection in China.It was classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2010.

The Yangtze River Biodiversity Research Institute carried out artificial breeding of Yangtze sturgeons in 2011 and now has set up a whole-life cycle protection technology system for the species. The artificial breeding technology succeeded in April 2019.

As of now, the CTG has released Yangtze sturgeons 27 times at the Yangtze Park in Yibin City of southwest China’s Sichuan Province and other places, with the total number of fry reaching 520,000.