In China, there were originally 6 species of sturgeon fish animals in the family Sturgeon, which are small body sturgeon, naked-bellied sturgeon, Siberian sturgeon, Shi's sturgeon, Dashi sturgeon and Chinese sturgeon, but only Dashi sturgeon is a unique species in China, and some are introduced to specific water systems from abroad. At this time, some people may think, have I forgotten the Yangtze River white sturgeon?
But the truth is that I really haven't forgotten that the Yangtze River white sturgeon is indeed an extinct species that many people regret, although it has long been listed as a national protected animal in China. However, many people know it when it was declared extinct, but the white sturgeon is indeed a species of white sturgeon in the family Spoon sturgeon, and was also the largest fish animal in China's freshwater.
Of course, titles like "living fossils in the water" or "giant pandas in the water" are often placed in front of the Yangtze River white sturgeon, Dashi sturgeon and Chinese sturgeon, mainly because they appeared very early, more than 100 million years ago, and their natural habitat was mainly concentrated in the Yangtze River Basin many years ago. As we all know, the evolutionary history of human beings can only be traced back millions of years, and the number and living environment of the existing sturgeon population are not optimistic, either extinct or critically endangered.
Natural spawning of Chinese sturgeon has not been detected for several years
Originally, in the 800-kilometer section from the lower reaches of the Jinsha River to the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, more than 16 Chinese sturgeon spawning grounds were found, which was the main spawning ground of Chinese sturgeon, but the construction of Gezhouba directly blocked the migration channel of Chinese sturgeon, and then they could only establish new spawning grounds, and the location was below the Gezhouba Dam.
This new spawning ground for Chinese sturgeon to reproduce is only about 4 kilometers away. Regardless of the number of spawning grounds, it can be seen from the length of the spawning grounds that the spawning grounds of the Chinese sturgeon have shrunk sharply, and this newly formed spawning field has naturally become the key to determining whether the Chinese sturgeon population can continue to continue.
However, the failure to detect natural spawning of Chinese sturgeon for several consecutive years is indeed a basic fact, which means that the current status of the Species of Chinese Sturgeon is even more worrying, even since 2017, there have been four years since the calculation of their breeding season, and it is still in the case of broodstock migration, which shows that the number of individuals with reproductive ability in the Chinese sturgeon population is also very small.
As you know, later we built the Three Gorges Dam, a world-class water conservancy and hydropower project, and the normal operation of the Three Gorges Dam has made the only spawning field of chinese sturgeon face new problems, for example, the water level will decrease in autumn and winter, and even the temperature of the water has changed to a certain extent, in addition, it has also affected the degree of rushing and hardness of the riverbed in the spawning area.
How many more Chinese sturgeon are there?
To know that there is no Gezhou Dam, the number of Chinese sturgeon is also tens of thousands, but by 2010 only 57 were found, and during this period, there are Three Gorges Dam, Xiangjiaba Project and Xiluodu Project completed and put into operation, and by 2020, the number of Chinese sturgeon breeding groups detected is only about 13, of course, this data may not be accurate, so researchers also gave a range, at least 7, no more than 18.
How many Chinese sturgeon can breed in the Yangtze River for ten years?
What is even more worrying is that not only is the number of eggs laid worrying, but even the juvenile fish of the Chinese sturgeon are difficult to find, and if it is difficult to spawn effectively in the case of the existing population, then the Chinese sturgeon is likely to go extinct like the white sturgeon. Although the lifespan of Chinese sturgeon may live to 40 years old, their development to sexual maturity is a bit long, and the first sexual maturity of females even needs to wait until the age of 14, which means that the Yangtze River has been closed to fishing for ten years, and it may not be too late for chinese sturgeon to grow up and reproduce.
As mentioned earlier, the reason why migratory fish such as the Chinese sturgeon is becoming less and less abundant is indeed related to the water conservancy and hydropower projects built in recent years, and even because of the rapid decline of the number of species that are faster in their construction. However, we cannot leave it alone, build channels without migration channels, and treat areas where the environment is polluted, and of course the problem of productive fishing must be solved simultaneously.
To put it simply and clearly, the ecological governance of the Yangtze River has never only been aimed at those who live by fishing, but has been improved from all aspects. Moreover, there are also sufficient data to prove that the fish resources of the Yangtze River have also shown a great downward trend under our fishing, from 430,000 tons in 1954 to less than 100,000 tons in 2011, is it not enough to arouse everyone's attention and reflection? Rare fish such as Chinese sturgeon and finless porpoises also live in the Yangtze River Basin, and they also have times when they are fished. Whether it is overfishing or water conservancy project construction, these already small numbers of fish and animals have been fatally hit, so in addition to the ban on fishing, whether it is waterway planning, pollution control, or sand mining management, they are being studied in an orderly manner.
Multi-pronged Yangtze River governance means, including the Yangtze River ten-year fishing ban plan, are what we need to do our best, no matter whether the Chinese sturgeon and other rare fish in the Yangtze River can appear in the number of recovery, at least we have avoided them from being greatly disturbed by human activities, while other general fish resources can reproduce in this decade for three or four generations, the current Yangtze River fishing ban has begun for more than a year, we do see more and more frequent porpoises appear, as for the situation of Chinese sturgeon, you can wait for the follow-up natural spawning news.