The Yangtze River White Sturgeon, the "king of freshwater fish", has been declared extinct. In recent centuries, human activities have intensified, and the natural population of sturgeon has declined sharply and is on the verge of extinction. It is known as "the world's largest white sturgeon".

The most threatened taxa”.

The Yangtze River paddlefish, the “king of freshwater fishes,” has been declared extinct.

The Yangtze River White Sturgeon, the “King of Freshwater Fishes,” is declared extinct 1 The Yangtze River White Sturgeon, known as the “King of China’s freshwater fish,” has been officially declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

On the evening of July 21, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) released an updated report on the global red list of endangered species, announcing that the white sturgeon was extinct and the Yangtze sturgeon was extinct in the wild.

According to the latest report on the IUCN official website, all 26 existing species of sturgeon in the world are facing the threat of extinction.

The list shows that the Yangtze River endemic species White Sturgeon (Psephurus gladius) has become extinct, the Yangtze River Sturgeon (Acipenser dabryanus) is extinct in the wild, and the naked sturgeon is extinct.

The Red List also upgraded the protection levels of seven other species of sturgeon.

▲ Photo provided by Wei Qiwei of White Sturgeon The IUCN global sturgeon reassessment results show that about two-thirds of the sturgeon population is critically endangered.

River and freshwater biodiversity are vital to humans and nature, but freshwater biodiversity continues to be lost globally and river ecology continues to degrade.

Arne Ludwig, chair of the IUCN Sturgeon Expert Group, said: "The results are shocking and sad, but expected. The assessment shows that sturgeons still cannot be removed from 'the world's most threatened taxa'.

'This title." The report also pointed out that globally, the main threats faced by sturgeons include: illegal fishing caused by the illegal trade of wild caviar and fish meat, dams blocking their migration routes, and unsustainable sand

Stone mining destroys their spawning grounds, as well as habitat loss.

The three Asian sturgeons promoted this time include white sturgeon, Yangtze sturgeon and Siberian sturgeon natural populations. The first two are representative aquatic species in the Yangtze River Basin.

The paddlefish last appeared in the Yangtze River in 2003. According to public information, the paddlefish is one of the largest freshwater fishes in the world. Sichuan fishermen have a proverb called "a thousand pounds of lazi (Chinese sturgeon) and a thousand pounds of elephant (white sturgeon)", and its length can reach 7

Rice, which originated about 200 million years ago, is endemic to China and the flagship species of the Yangtze River.

In 1989, the white sturgeon was listed as a national first-level protected wild animal. In 1996, it was listed as "critically endangered" by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). It was determined to be "critically endangered (possibly extinct)" when it was re-evaluated in 2009.

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In addition, the paddlefish is a protected species in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and is also one of the main protection targets of the Rare and Endemic Fish National Nature Reserve in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

The last white sturgeon recorded alive was in January 2003. It was accidentally caught in the Yibin section of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in Sichuan and was released after successful rescue.

"This is not an accident, but a profound lesson." Wei Qiwei, the only Chinese member of the IUCN Sturgeon Expert Group, a researcher at the Yangtze River Institute of Chinese Fishery Sciences, and the founder of the Wuhan Yangtze Chinese Sturgeon Conservation Center, carried out the study of white sturgeons and white dolphins.

Comparison: “It is true that sturgeons are the most threatened species in the world, but the extinction of paddlefish is still something that should not happen. The ecological habits of paddlefish and baiji dolphins are different. One breeds in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and the other habitat is mainly in the Yangtze River.

downstream, but their fate and period of extinction were similar. This is not an accident, but a profound lesson. Other aquatic organisms in the Yangtze River must not make the same mistake." In the evaluation of this report, the Yangtze River sturgeon was not found due to the failure of the juveniles of the released population.

The fish has been assessed as extinct in the wild.

Regarding the current situation of the Yangtze River sturgeon, Wei Qiwei said, "The Yangtze River sturgeon has not reproduced naturally for 20 years, which shows that the ecological environment of the Yangtze River cannot be said to have been restored well." "The extinction of the white sturgeon and the extinction of the Yangtze sturgeon in the wild is a wake-up call for us.

"This is a wake-up call," said Zhou Fei, Deputy Director General (Projects) of WWF Beijing Representative Office, "The results of this red list update remind us that we need to reverse the trend of freshwater biodiversity loss through rescue protection, and it is also more important to plan and implement systematic

To address long-term threats through protective measures, it is far from enough to rely solely on manual measures and investment from a single department. We need the participation and support of more institutions and social forces to help the Yangtze River sturgeons "downgrade" as soon as possible and better protect the Chinese sturgeons migrating across the river and sea.

, and create a bright future for the river and sea ecosystem.