Five hundred Chinese sturgeons born in a man-made breeding environment were released into the Yangtze River in Yichang City of central China's Hubei Province on Saturday.
Born between the year of 2011 and 2014, the 500 sturgeons have an average body length of 110 centimeters and an average weight of 5.5 kilograms.
"Each year, the number of Chinese sturgeons running into the Yangtze River for reproduction is less than a hundred. They are in a critically endangered situation. However, the reproduction technology applied to the second generation of the Chinese sturgeons can ensure the species will continue to reproduce at least in a man-made breeding environment. In fact, the breakthrough in the technology is of paramount significance as it's a milestone in the protection of the Chinese sturgeons," said Jiang Wei, a researcher with the Chinese Sturgeon Research Institute of the China Three Gorges Corporation.
Since the year of 1984, the Chinese Sturgeon Research Institute has released more than five million Chinese sturgeons into the Yangtze River, which have effectively boosted the continuation of the precious species in a natural environment.
"The Chinese sturgeon is a kind of flagship species for the Yangtze River. A stable population of Chinese sturgeons living and reproducing here could prove the Yangtze River is fine, with a sustainable ecological system," said Ma Chaode, a project manager with the United Nations Development Programme in China.
As old as the age of dinosaurs, the endangered Chinese sturgeons have been living on earth for 140 million years. To protect the so-called “living fossil” in the water, the Chinese Sturgeon Research Institute has launched sturgeon-releasing activities for 33 consecutive years.
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