Compared to 2022, the average unit resource of monitoring points on the main stream of the Yangtze River has increased by 16.7% in 2023. 34 indigenous fish species have been detected in the Yangtze River Basin, and 3 species of nationally protected aquatic wildlife have been detected... At the Yangtze River Aquatic Biological Resources Protection Work Conference held in Wuhan, Hubei on the 4th, the relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said that in recent years, various regions and departments along the Yangtze River have firmly promoted the ten-year fishing ban and systematically implemented protection and restoration measures, and the protection of aquatic organisms in the Yangtze River has achieved positive results.
The person in charge introduced that the protection of aquatic organisms in the Yangtze River is characterized by increasing awareness of conservation, rapid recovery of fish resources, improvement of aquatic biodiversity, and steady progress in habitat restoration work.
Monitoring shows that in 2023, the average unit resource quantity of monitoring points on the main stream of the Yangtze River reached 2.1 kilograms. 227 indigenous fish species and 14 nationally protected aquatic wildlife species were detected in the Yangtze River Basin, an increase of 16.7%, 34 species, and 3 species respectively compared to 2022. In 2022, the population of Yangtze finless porpoises reached 1249, an increase of 237 from 2017, achieving a historic rebound.
In addition, in 2023, the intensity of fishing related projects such as sand mining and waterway improvement has decreased, and the trend of habitat destruction has been preliminarily curbed. The integrity index of aquatic organisms in the Yangtze River main stream, Dongting Lake, and Poyang Lake has increased by two levels compared to 2018, and the integrity index of Chishui River has returned to a "good" level.
The Yangtze River is the mother river of the Chinese nation, an important support for the development of the Chinese nation, and an important gene bank for aquatic organisms in China. It plays an important role in China's ecological security pattern.
The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said that in the next step, the agricultural and rural departments will strengthen the protection of rare and endangered species, and promote the implementation of flagship species rescue action plans such as Chinese sturgeon, Yangtze sturgeon, and Yangtze finless porpoise; In conjunction with relevant departments, we will promote the implementation of a number of protection and restoration projects in important habitats of aquatic organisms, urge localities to urgently plan and implement river and lake water system connectivity restoration plans within their administrative regions, and promote the protection and restoration of important habitats; Scientifically implementing breeding and releasing, optimizing the structure of releasing species, regulating folk releasing behavior, and strengthening the evaluation of releasing effects, continuously promoting the protection of aquatic organisms in the Yangtze River and achieving new results.