Sturgeon Struggling for Survival
Conservationists are struggling to save an ancient river fish from extinction. The Chinese sturgeon, a giant fish that's been around since the age of the dinosaurs are on their way to extinction.
Adult sturgeons, which can measure up to 13 feet in length and weigh 1,000 pounds, migrate from the East China Sea into the Yangtze River to spawn. But the Yangtze's deterioration and increased shipping traffic have taken their toll on the fish and other species that call the river home.
Thirty years ago there were 2,000 spawning Chinese sturgeons in the Yangtze River every year. Now that number is down to several hundred. There may be only a thousand of the animals left in the river.
Scientists hope to reverse the trend by breeding sturgeons in captivity and putting them back into the river before the species disappears from the wild. But the reproductive capacity of the fish is poor; it takes more than ten years for the Chinese sturgeon to begin spawning. It will take at least another five years for the oldest fish at the hatchery to reach sexual maturity, and be any help in the wild.
August 16, 2007 6:48 AM | Category: Fish