More than 220,000 artificially-bred Chinese sturgeon were released into the section of the Yangtze River in Yichang City and Jingzhou City, Hubei Province, on April 12.

The release was jointly conducted by the China Three Gorges Corporation and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Hubei Province.

Nicknamed "aquatic pandas," Chinese sturgeon have existed for over 140 million years. However, the natural population of the species in the Yangtze plummeted in the late 20th century due to intrusive human activities.

In an effort to restore the population of the rare species, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued the Yangtze River Sturgeon Rescue Action Plan (2018-2035) in 2018. The Yangtze River Protection Law, China's first piece of legislation for a specific river basin, came into force on March 1, 2021, strengthening the protection of Chinese sturgeon and other rare or endangered species.

Editor：Zhilan Hu