On April 13, 700 Chinese sturgeons of 5 age groups were released into the Yangtze River in Yichang by the Chinese Sturgeons Research Institute (CSRI). This was the 61st Chinese Sturgeons releasing since the establishment of CSRI .
These released Chinese sturgeons are rare in terms of size and weight, some of which are aged between 8 to 10 years old, with the length and weight of 2 meters and 50 kilograms respectively. Advanced sonar marks with longer performance period were adopted to monitor their migration and breeding. In the future, if these Chinese sturgeons can grow mature in the ocean and migrate back to Yangtze River, signals sent by sonar marks inside them will be collected by the monitoring system. Chinese sturgeons, a precious species in Yangtze River, suffer from depopulation due to the ecological environment changes and human activities. Therefore, relevant departments have been jointly launching the releasing activity since 1984 to save the endangered species,(Reporter Liu Yue and Huang Yuyang)