In July 2022, the Yangtze River white sturgeon, known as the "King of Freshwater Fish in China", was officially declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
This means that the Yangtze River may no longer see the wild Yangtze River white sturgeon, and the reason why we say it is possible here is because there have been species that have really declared extinction in the world, that is, the Fernandina tortoise we are talking about.
Therefore, we also expect that there will be a "miracle". However, whether it may still exist or not. For us humans, there is another sad news.
This is also after the IUCN declared extinction, there is a new news, that is, China's Chinese sturgeon is facing a crisis again, it is really extremely heartache, one bad news after another appears, what is going on?
Chinese sturgeon is also a very good fish in the Yangtze River in China, according to popular Science Chinese records, the largest individual of this fish can reach 5 meters, the weight can reach 600 kg, so it is very large.
Therefore, in the mainland Yangtze River, it is also the largest fish, so it is known as the "Yangtze River Fish King", it has a long life cycle, the longest life span of up to 40 years.
But then again, this fish is still relatively peculiar in appearance, the body is spindle-shaped, the tip of the head is long, and there are 4 whiskers in front of the mouth, which is a little different from what we often say about fish, so it is also very easy to identify.
It belongs to the benthic fish, the feeding habit is very narrow, is a carnivorous fish, mainly feeds on small or slow-moving benthic animals, when food is scarce, it will prey on crustaceans, a small number of soft organisms.
And this fish is also a "migratory" organism, summer and autumn, living in the shallow waters outside the Mouth of the Yangtze River, the Chinese sturgeon migrates to the Yangtze River, after more than 3,000 kilometers of tracing, only to return to the Jinsha River area to spawn and breed, which is a basic situation of it.
However, the Chinese sturgeon is still a little different from the Yangtze River white sturgeon, this fish distribution range is relatively wide, in addition to the mainland distribution, in Japan, Southeast Asia and other countries also have.
The mainland used to be more distributed, but it seems that only the Yangtze River can see it. In recorded history, it has also been found in areas such as the Yellow River, Minjiang River, Qiantang River and Pearl River, but it may have become extinct and no wild individuals have been found for a long time. Therefore, the Chinese sturgeon is also in a state of need of protection in the mainland.
The IUCN also lists it as a critically endangered species, while on the mainland it is also a First Class Protected Species. From this level, everyone should know that once the Chinese sturgeon is caught and brings a fatal impact, it may be "sitting on the bottom of the prison", so it is necessary to be vigilant. However, the crisis of the Chinese sturgeon has come, which is another extremely painful news.
I haven't seen natural reproduction in 5 years! Will the "Yangtze River Fish King" Chinese sturgeon follow in the footsteps of the white sturgeon? Indeed, it was a bit painful to see the news.
According to the inspectors of the Endangered Fish Conservation Discipline Group of the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, during the breeding stage of chinese sturgeon every year, they will stay in the Chinese Sturgeon Nature Reserve in the Yichang section of Hubei Province of the Yangtze River for more than 2 months to conduct field monitoring of the breeding population size and breeding activities of Chinese sturgeon in the chinese sturgeon spawning ground downstream of Gezhouba.
So, in order not to witness the extinction of a new species, we need to investigate the area and see if it hasn't yet.
Hopefully, this ancient creature will be able to see it lay its eggs. Unfortunately, however, we have not monitored the natural reproduction of Chinese sturgeon for 5 consecutive years. So, I haven't seen natural reproduction in 5 years! This means that its trend is still towards a state of "extinction".
From the distribution of the "Yangtze River Fish King" Chinese sturgeon, the lower section of Gezhouba Dam in Yichang City, Hubei Province, is known to be the only Chinese sturgeon spawning ground.
Although the mainland has increased the protection of the Yangtze River in recent years, and the water quality of the Yangtze River Basin has been improving, the Yichang River section downstream of Gezhouba has not been monitored for natural spawning activities of Chinese sturgeon.
That's the heartache. And from the population situation in the wild, it can also be seen that there are not many Chinese sturgeon in the Yangtze River, and the number is large-scale reduction.
According to monitoring data, in the 1970s, the breeding population in the Yangtze River could reach more than 10,000 tails, while in the 1980s, the number of Gezhouba interception showed a sharp decline, leaving only 2176, only 363 in 2000, and only 57 in 2010. The main reason here is that part of the influence of the construction of gezhou dam exists, which is undeniable.
It needs to be fundamentally resolved to make it possible to recover, how to solve it?
First, fundamentally solve the problem of spawning and breeding of Chinese sturgeon that were born and released after the interception of gezhouba, because after the construction, the number of production is very small.
Second, the scale and specifications of the Chinese sturgeon stocking are too small, and the actual effect of the breeding and stocking of Chinese sturgeon is not obvious.
Third, once the Three Gorges Dam is intercepted, the water level of the spawning grounds under the Gezhou Dam will be lowered, which may pose a fatal threat to the Chinese sturgeon.
Therefore, the protection of Chinese sturgeon needs to solve these problems. First of all, Gezhouba is impossible to change, and the only way is to guide the Chinese sturgeon and establish a "new spawning" farm, otherwise it is difficult to solve.
After the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, new spawning areas have emerged, so whether the Chinese sturgeon will have new spawning areas is the key to its continuous reproduction.
However, no natural reproduction has been seen in 5 years! This is a bad phenomenon, which means that they are unlikely to reproduce in the wild, so they need to be monitored more intensively. Will the "Yangtze River Fish King" Chinese sturgeon follow in the footsteps of the white sturgeon?
The "Yangtze River Fish King" Chinese sturgeon is relatively better, although we have not seen natural breeding in the wild for 5 years, but the biggest difference between it and the Yangtze River white sturgeon is that it has achieved artificial breeding. Therefore, it has a certain help for the distribution of the population.
In 1983, the mainland completely banned the fishing of Chinese sturgeon, and after the introduction of the Wildlife Protection Law in 1988, the Chinese sturgeon was included in the national protection list, which further strengthened the protection of the creature, and in 1983, the mainland also successfully achieved artificial breeding.
After that, they continue to breed and release Chinese sturgeon seedlings and seedlings to the Yangtze River. According to statistics, from 1983 to 1998, a total of nearly 6 million Chinese sturgeon seedlings of various specifications were increased and released, which were still released until 2022, and in April 2022, at the Yangtze River rare fish release point in the Rouge Garden of Yichang City, Hubei Province, 230,000 second-generation Chinese sturgeon fry were released into the Yangtze River at one time.
Therefore, the protection of the Chinese sturgeon on the mainland needs to be increased, which also shows a problem from here, that is, the "Yangtze River Fish King" Chinese sturgeon will follow in the footsteps of the white sturgeon.
However, it is necessary to continue to increase protection, we have also seen, so many years, the mainland Chinese sturgeon is still a first-class protected species, even the national treasure level of the giant panda has been downgraded, but the Chinese sturgeon has not yet, which shows that it is still facing the dilemma of survival, once there is no wild natural spawning and reproduction, there must still be a risk of extinction, this is the general situation.