A 10-year fishing ban in the key waters of China's Yangtze River basin has achieved solid progress in ecological conservation?in 2022, with aquatic bioresources gradually recovering, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Feb. 28.
The number of Yangtze finless porpoises, an endangered species known as the "giant panda of the water," reached 1,249?in 2022. Compared with 1,012 in 2017, the total number increased by 23.42?percent?in five?years.
The species has been more frequently spotted in the Poyang Lake, the Dongting Lake, and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, according to the ministry.
In 2022, 193 species of fish were spotted?in the key waters of the Yangtze River basin, registering robust growth from 168 in 2020.
In the Jianli section of the Yangtze River, the number of fish roe produced by the four major Chinese carps, namely black carp, grass carp, silver carp and bighead carp, during the breeding season surged from less than 100 million to 7.87 billion, said the ministry.
To restore the biodiversity along the river, China implemented a full fishing ban in 332 conservation areas of the Yangtze River basin in January 2020. The move has since been expanded to a 10-year moratorium along the river's main streams and major tributaries, effective Jan.1, 2021.?(en.hubei.gov.cn by Zhang Yawei）