Chinese Sturgeon Found in Tributary of Yangtze River

Over the weekend, residents in Ma'anshan city, Anhui Province, stumbled upon a Chinese sturgeon trapped in a filtering pond along the Yunliang River, a tributary of the Yangtze River. This particular sturgeon, measuring 50 cm in length and weighing around 10 kg, displays a characteristic grayish-brown body with a grayish-white abdomen, and a spindle-shaped figure, indicating it is a Chinese sturgeon, a critically endangered species under first-level protection in China.

Upon the local authorities' intervention, experts from the city's agriculture and rural affairs bureau confirmed the identity of the sturgeon and verified its good health status. This significant finding of a wild Chinese sturgeon in the Ma'anshan section of the Yangtze River is notable, especially considering the strict 10-year fishing ban in place in the Yangtze River Basin. The discovery hints at potential positive effects on the aquatic habitats in this region, suggesting an improvement in the overall ecosystem in this part of the river. Xia Dejun, an official from the city's agriculture and rural affairs bureau, emphasized the importance of this discovery in showcasing the positive impact of habitat preservation efforts on the biodiversity of aquatic organisms in the Yangtze River.