China has made significant strides in protecting the Chinese sturgeon, one of the world’s most critically endangered species, thanks to a decade-long conservation push along the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Known as the “panda of the water”, the anadromous sturgeon migrates from the sea to spawn in the 6,300 km-long Yangtze, China’s longest river.

Since the launch of the Yangtze River Economic Belt initiative in 2016, efforts to safeguard the river’s ecosystem have intensified. Measures include banning illegal fishing, creating breeding areas, conducting artificial propagation, and releasing captive-bred sturgeon. In 2020, Shanghai introduced the nation’s first local regulations dedicated to protecting the species.

By 2025, researchers recorded 25 Chinese sturgeons in the Yangtze estuary, a relative high compared with previous years. This increase follows large-scale releases of over 970,000 captive-bred Chinese sturgeons into the Yangtze River in 2025, boosting biodiversity and giving new hope for the species’ recovery.

Source: China Central Television