The China Three Gorges Corporation has recently completed the artificial breeding of 1.2 million Chinese sturgeon fry for 2023, marking a historic high in the 40-year history of artificial breeding efforts, the company announced.
This year's artificial breeding of Chinese sturgeon began on Sept 17 and concluded at the end of October. The China Three Gorges Corporation's Yangtze River Biodiversity Research Center reproduced mature Chinese sturgeon broodstock in three batches, all of which showed favorable post-breeding recovery.
Chinese sturgeon fry at the Chinese sturgeon fry breeding base of the Yichang Experimental Station, the Yangtze River Rare Fish Breeding Base, on Oct 16, 2023 [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
The Chinese sturgeon, a unique large sea-river migratory fish native to China, is mainly found in the coastal waters of Southeast China and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The Chinese sturgeon was designated as endangered wildlife species under first class protection in 1988 and a critically endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2010.
Since 2009, China has prohibited the capture of wild Chinese sturgeon for scientific research. In addition, the China Three Gorges Corporation's Yangtze River Biodiversity Research Center has made breakthroughs in full artificial breeding technology for Chinese sturgeon. In recent years, the center has systematically conducted key technical research on the development regulation of Chinese sturgeon gonads, nutritional enhancement, large-scale cultivation, and the rehabilitation and survival of Chinese sturgeon broodstock. A comprehensive artificial population of Chinese sturgeon is primarily comprised of second-generation Chinese sturgeon with an established well-structured age hierarchy. The center has perfected early gender identification techniques, explored the impact of critical factors on fish growth and development, and achieved precise control over the artificial population of Chinese sturgeon, forming a complete Chinese sturgeon artificial breeding technology system.
Staff observe the development of fish eggs [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
Over the past five years, the center has made significant strides in Chinese sturgeon breeding, progressing from "tens of thousands" to "hundreds of thousands" and now reaching the milestone of "a million" fry. In addition to achieving success in the full artificial breeding of Chinese sturgeon for several consecutive years, the center has insisted on releasing a large number of Chinese sturgeon into the Yangtze River every year, effectively supplementing the population resources of the Chinese sturgeon.
(Executive editor: Xie Yunxiao)
