"Release" is a cliché term. Originally this well-intentioned act, over the years, some people have blindly released animals and caused some adverse consequences, which has led to people's criticism of "release".

Unlike blind release, scientific and reasonable release is beneficial to all aspects, especially for some endangered species. Artificial release can even save them from the brink of extinction. Take the Chinese sturgeon. For this species, the recovery of its population depends on artificial release.

In the past 30 years, people have More than 7 million Chinese sturgeons have been released into the Yangtze River one after another.

Every spring is the season for releasing Chinese sturgeons. This year’s release was held in March. In late March, a total of 200,000 Chinese sturgeons of different sizes were released in batches.

Many friends may have doubts when it comes to this. In recent years, tens of thousands of Chinese sturgeons have been released into the Yangtze River every year. In the past 38 years, a total of more than 7 million sturgeons have been released. It stands to reason that so many fry should be released. Go, the Chinese sturgeon should have been overrun with fish long ago.

The fact is exactly the opposite. The Chinese sturgeon is still on the verge of extinction. On the "Chinese Sturgeon Conservation Day", scientists even announced that "the natural breeding phenomenon of wild Chinese sturgeon has not been monitored for five consecutive years." , why is this?

What is Chinese sturgeon?

The Chinese sturgeon is a relatively large fish, usually growing to 50-260 kilograms in adulthood, with a body length of 0.4-1.2 meters, and the largest individual can even reach 5 meters. They are the largest fish in the Yangtze River, so they are also called the "King of Fishes in the Yangtze River".

The appearance of the Chinese sturgeon is very different from that of ordinary fish. The body is spindle-shaped, the head is pointed, the mouth is long, and there are four rostrums in front of the mouth. There are five rows of large and hard bone scales on its body, two rows on the sides and ventral sides, and one row on the back.

Chinese sturgeons are carnivorous fish, and Their food habits are very narrow, mainlyActivities at the bottom of the water, eating some small or slow-moving benthic animals.

Chinese sturgeons are one of the oldest creatures on earth. They have been living on earth as early as the era of dinosaurs. Their life cycle is very long, which can reach 40 years. They are known as living fossils and "giant pandas in water". They are mainly distributed from the Jinsha River, the main stream of the Yangtze River in my country, to the mouth of the sea, and occasionally appear in other water systems.

Chinese sturgeons are migratory fish. In autumn, they will go up the river to their spawning grounds. However, unlike what everyone thinks, they do not go all the way up the river. , but stop and go, sometimes even lurking in the potholes in the river midway, staying motionless for several days.

Where did the released Chinese sturgeon go?

In fact, over the years, the awareness of the protection of Chinese sturgeons has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. The most direct example is that many fishermen have accidentally caught Chinese sturgeons, and without exception they have quickly released them. In the river.

For example, fishermen in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, once captured a nearly one-meter Chinese sturgeon and released it under the organization of relevant departments. There is also a Shanghai citizen who once discovered a Chinese sturgeon at the Shidongkou Power Plant. He was worried that it might die if it was left out of the water for too long, so he immediately took it to the Shidongkou Pier and released it.

Despite people's strong awareness of protection and more than 30 years of continuous release, the Chinese sturgeon is still extremely endangered. So where have all the released fish gone?

The Chinese sturgeon is a fish that is difficult to breed in captivity. In the early days, due to the breeding environment and technology, the Chinese sturgeons released were basically seedlings. After being released into the Yangtze River, the survival rate was extremely high. Low, so the exile activities in the early years were basically ineffective exiles, and the truly effective exiles only took place in the past few years.

Thanks to the advancement of breeding technology, people can now raise a Chinese sturgeon from egg to adult. Therefore, the individuals released in recent years are usually more than 20 centimeters. In the Yangtze River, almost No natural predators can eat them.

However, after Chinese sturgeons enter the river, they will first swim to the sea and live for more than 10 years before returning to the Yangtze River to lay eggs. Therefore, the effects of the effective release of individuals in recent years have not yet appeared.

Ten-year fishing ban plan in the Yangtze River

In January 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued a plan announcement, which is the famous "Yangtze River Ten-year Fishing Ban Plan". The purpose is very clear, which is to allow the Yangtze River to recuperate and recuperate, so that there will not be no fish to catch in the end.

The Yangtze River is one of the rivers with the richest aquatic biodiversity in my country and even in the world. However, in the past few decades, due to overfishing, environmental pollution and other problems, the ecology of the Yangtze River has become increasingly degraded. The biological integrity of the Yangtze River has been seriously challenged. Therefore, protecting the Yangtze River ecology is an urgent matter. The "Yangtze River Ten-Year Fishing Ban Plan" naturally came into being.

The "Yangtze River Ten-Year Ban on Fishing Plan" is of no use to the recovery of the Chinese sturgeon population.Doubt is extremely beneficial. The Chinese sturgeon is a large carnivorous fish. Its ecological niche in the Yangtze River ecosystem is equivalent to that of tigers and leopards in the forest ecosystem. Only a sufficient amount of basic prey can support their survival.

Nearly three years have passed since the ten-year ban on fishing in the Yangtze River, and the results have begun to show. For example, during the "Peach Blossom Flood" last year, the shoals in many river sections were densely packed with fish, and there were even so many fish that they filled the river. It was "dyed" black, and in the words of the citizens, there were "an overflowing number of fish."

Of course, more importantly, the ten-year ban on fishing has not only increased the number of fish in the Yangtze River, but also improved the ecology of the Yangtze River, making it suitable for the survival of all types of native fish, including the Chinese sturgeon.

The protection and release of Chinese sturgeons is a long-term undertaking, and it may be difficult to see results in a short period of time. However, I believe that with people’s persistent protection and release, the number of Chinese sturgeons will gradually increase and eventually escape extinction. fate.