Yichang, Hubei Province holds a Chinese sturgeon release event

On April 12, 2015, the Three Gorges Group and the Yichang Municipal People's Government jointly hosted the 2015 Yangtze River Three Gorges Chinese Sturgeon Release Event at the Yanzhiyuan Yangtze River Rare Fish Release Point. The World Wildlife Fund, Nature Conservation Association, and others have provided support for this activity. This event is the 57th time that the Chinese Sturgeon Research Institute of Three Gorges Group has launched a Chinese sturgeon release activity, releasing a total of 3000 second-generation Chinese sturgeons.

Long Fei, member of the Party Leadership Group and head of discipline inspection team of Three Gorges Corporation, Zhang Hanzhong, deputy director of Hubei Fisheries Bureau, Wang Guobin, deputy mayor of Yichang Municipal People's Government, Cao Wenxuan, academician of the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wang Ding, secretary-general of the National Committee of "Man and the Biosphere" of China, Li Danning, project manager of the sustainable hydropower strategic partnership of the Nature Conservancy Association (TNC), Zhu Jiang, director of biodiversity conservation of the Yangtze River of WWF, Zhang Shuguang, Assistant General Manager of Three Gorges Group and Director of Three Gorges Hub Management Bureau, attended the release event and participated in the release. Yao Jinzhong, Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Three Gorges Hub Management Bureau, presided over the release activity.

Starting from 2009, under the advice of experts, China stopped scientific research and fishing of wild Chinese sturgeon. After the cessation of wild Chinese sturgeon fishing, the conservation of Chinese sturgeon species has not stopped. Three Gorges Group has invested a large amount of technical strength and funds in the research of fully artificial reproduction of Chinese sturgeon. In 2009, the Chinese Sturgeon Research Institute achieved the first successful research on artificial reproduction of Chinese sturgeon. After expert appraisal, the overall research level reached the international leading level.

It is precisely because of mature artificial breeding technology that the quality and scale of Chinese sturgeon release have been improving year by year. On October 14, 2014, the offspring of the Chinese sturgeon research institute, the Chinese sturgeon, matured again and successfully reproduced, marking a substantial breakthrough in the key technology of parental re maturation of the Chinese sturgeon and filling the gap in this research field. Innovation in tracking technology: Building on the successful implementation of sonar tracking in 2014, real-time transmission technology was first adopted at monitoring stations along the river in 2015. Each station can transmit real-time migration information of released Chinese sturgeons.

To accurately grasp the migratory behavior of this group of Chinese sturgeon released in the Yangtze River, three marking methods were used for the released fish species, including passive integrated radar (PIT) marking, sonar marking, and external hanging T-shaped external marking, to help researchers identify and monitor the released Chinese sturgeon.

The T-shaped marker belongs to in vitro labeling, which can distinguish it from natural breeding populations. The label is printed with a unique number, release unit, and contact information, which can effectively improve the feedback rate of accidental capture and injury information after release.

The Passive Integrated Radar (PIT) tag and sonar tag belong to in vivo tags, where the PIT tag has a unique encoding and does not require an internal battery, making it effective for a long time; Sonar markers are sound wave emitting devices embedded in the body of Chinese sturgeons, which receive sonar signals through active tracking or receiver deployment along the river, in order to obtain fish migration information. This type of marking does not require catching the marked fish after release. When the marked fish swim within the receiver's receiving range (about 1.5 kilometers), it can be automatically recorded, thus inferring the fish's migration route.

The T-shaped marker belongs to in vitro labeling, which can distinguish it from natural breeding populations. The label is printed with a unique number, release unit, and contact information, which can effectively improve the feedback rate of accidental capture and injury information after release.

The Passive Integrated Radar (PIT) tag and sonar tag belong to in vivo tags, where the PIT tag has a unique encoding and does not require an internal battery, making it effective for a long time; Sonar markers are sound wave emitting devices embedded in the body of Chinese sturgeons, which receive sonar signals through active tracking or receiver deployment along the river, in order to obtain fish migration information. This type of marking does not require catching the marked fish after release. When the marked fish swim within the receiver's receiving range (about 1.5 kilometers), it can be automatically recorded, thus inferring the fish's migration route.

The large Chinese sturgeon released this time were all placed with sonar markers. The Chinese sturgeon Research Institute has set up sonar receivers and monitoring stations in Yichang, Yidu, Shashi, Jianli, Honghu, Tongling, Wuhan, Jiujiang, Ezhou, Anqing, Wuhu, Nanjing, and Jiangyin. All monitoring data will be fully collected for subsequent scientific research on the Chinese sturgeon.

This release activity attracted many international and domestic organizations, including the World Wide Fund for Nature, the Nature Conservation Association, Man and the Biosphere and other international organizations, college student volunteers from cities along the river invited by the Three Gorges Group for the first time, Xizang class students from the Three Gorges University with counterpart support, as well as local enterprises, schools, the public and volunteers, making the participants more diversified. The picture shows the Chinese sturgeon about to enter the Yangtze River.