Recently, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICN) released an updated report on the global red list of threatened species, declaring that the white sturgeon is extinct and the Yangtze sturgeon is extinct in the wild.

Netizens commented: it's a pity that it has attracted people's attention in this sad way.

The Specimen of White Sturgeon (source: the internet)

According to relevant reports, human being saw the white sturgeon in 2003 for the last time. In January 2003, a 3-meter-long white sturgeon rammed into the net of a fisherman in Nanxi County, Yibin City, Sichuan Province, and dragged the boat straight into the torrent in the middle of the river. The fishing boat almost capsized. After receiving the fishermen's help, the local fishery administration department immediately rescued, and then marked and released it for tracking. However, on the fourth day, due to the tracking ship hitting the reef, the white sturgeon disappeared after it was repaired.

In 2003, experts rescued the Yangtze River white sturgeon. (source: the internet)

It has never been thought that it was the last time we saw the white sturgeon. We even don’t have any time to say goodbye. The white sturgeon has witnessed the changes of the Yangtze River for 150 million years. It has survived as a neighbor of dinosaurs, but it has not survived the 21st century.

The white sturgeon is a unique species in the Yangtze River. It is known as the "king of freshwater fish in China" because of its huge size. The maximum length of the adult white sturgeon can reach 7 meters, and the maximum weight can hit tens of thousands of kilograms. Since ancient times, the fishermen of the Yangtze River said: “One thousand pounds of Chinese sturgeon, 10 thousand pounds of sturgeon.”

The white sturgeon has been extinct, and the wild population of its partner Chinese sturgeon is not optimistic. We are always worried about whether Chinese sturgeon will be the next one to be extinct.

Chinese Sturgeon (Juvenile Sturgeon)  

Photo Source: Zhuang Ping

Chinese sturgeon, like white sturgeon, is the flagship species of the Yangtze River and the oldest vertebrate on the earth. It is huge and powerful. The most striking feature is that it is covered with large hard bone plates, just like soldiers wearing armor. In recent years, because the population of Chinese sturgeon is also declining, it was listed as a national wild animal of first-class protection in 1988 and listed as an extremely endangered species by the ICN in 2010.

Chongming Dongtan Nature Reserve is located at the estuary of the Yangtze River. This special estuarine ecosystem provides a place for the migratory fish of the Yangtze River, including Chinese sturgeon, to adapt to salinity changes during their migration between the river and the sea, as well as to lay eggs and feed them. It is an important natural resource heritage bank in the Yangtze River Estuary. For Chinese sturgeon, the waters near Dongtan Nature Reserve are the only "kindergarten" for juvenile Chinese sturgeon, the "waiting room" and the "postpartum nursing home" for adult Chinese sturgeon, and they play an irreplaceable role in their life history.

The Aerial Photograph of Dongtan, Chongming District

Photo by Xu Zhongying

Fortunately, in recent years, China has strengthened the protection of aquatic organisms in the Yangtze River Basin and paid special attention to the protection of sturgeon. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People's Republic of China has successively issued the action plan for rescue of Chinese sturgeon (2015-2030) and the action plan for the rescue of Yangtze River sturgeon (Dachshund sturgeon) (2018-2035). On June 6, 2020, the regulations on the protection and management of Chinese sturgeon from Shanghai officially came into force. From January 1, 2021, the key waters of the Yangtze River Basin officially entered the ten-year fishing ban period.

The water quality monitoring in Chinese Sturgeon Reserve

Chongming Dongtan Nature Reserve Management Affairs Center, Shanghai never gives up hope. Since assuming various management functions of the Chinese Sturgeon Reserve, it has adhered to the normal monitoring of the Chinese sturgeon and the monitoring and management of the habitat waters of the Chinese sturgeon reserve, and it is committed to protecting the aquatic animals and plants represented by the Chinese sturgeon and the water environment in which it lives.

The extinction of the white sturgeon saddens us and also sounds an ecological alarm to us. As the "forerunner" of ecological protection, we should not only learn from the bitter experience, but also think about how to improve the living conditions of other species and promote the harmonious coexistence between human and nature.

In the future, the fate of the flagship species of the Yangtze River, such as Chinese sturgeon, is expected to usher in a new turning point with the action of "Great Protection of the Yangtze River". We also look forward to seeing the day when the survival situation of Chinese sturgeon is greatly improved.