TAG: GS 3: ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT
THE CONTEXT: In a significant effort to revive the wild population of the endangered Dabry’s sturgeon, also known as the Yangtze sturgeon, more than 800,000 sturgeons bred in captivity were released into the upper reaches of the Yangtze River recently.
EXPLANATION:
- This release was conducted by the China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) in Yibin, Sichuan Province, Southwest China.
Dabry’s Sturgeon
- Dabry’s sturgeon (Acipenser dabryanus), also known as the Yangtze sturgeon, Changjiang sturgeon and river sturgeon, is a species of fish in the sturgeon family, Acipenseridae.
- It is endemic to China and today restricted to the Yangtze River basin.
- It was also recorded from the Yellow River basin in the past.
- It was a food fish of commercial importance.
- This sturgeon has been known to reach 2.5 m (8.2 ft) in length, but it is usually much smaller.
- Its body is blue-gray above and yellowish white on the belly, with five rows of scutes.
- The head is triangular and the snout is long with the mouth located on the underside. There are two pairs of barbels.
- Its populations declined drastically, and since 1988, it was designated an endangered species on the Chinese Red List in Category I and commercial harvest was banned.
- The Dabry’s sturgeon was classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2010.
- This species has faced a dramatic decline in its natural population since the 1980s, losing its natural breeding ability since 2000.
Conservation Efforts
- In response to the declining population, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued the Yangtze River Sturgeon (Dabry’s Sturgeon) Rescue Action Plan (2018-2035) in 2018.
- This plan outlines the steps necessary to restore the population of Dabry’s sturgeon.
Yangtze River Protection Law
- On March 1, 2021, the Yangtze River Protection Law came into effect.
- This is China’s first legislation focused on a specific river basin, aiming to strengthen the protection of the Dabry’s sturgeon and other rare or endangered species.
Role of China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG)
- The CTG has been pivotal in the breeding and release of Dabry’s sturgeon.
- These efforts are significant in supplementing the natural population.
- The CTG plans to continue breeding Dabry’s sturgeon seedlings and conduct further releases to promote the restoration of the species’ natural population.
- As of June 2024, CTG had released more than 24 million rare and endemic fish species into the Yangtze River basin.
- This large-scale release of artificially bred sturgeons is a crucial step in enhancing the natural population of Dabry’s sturgeon.
Yangtze River
- Yangtze or is the longest river in Eurasia, the third-longest in the world.
- It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows 6,300 km (3,915 mi) in a generally easterly direction to the East China Sea.
- It is the fifth-largest primary river by discharge volume in the world.
- Its drainage basin comprises one-fifth of the land area of China, and is home to nearly one-third of the country’s population.