SHANGHAI, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Eighty-five artificially-bred Chinese sturgeon, a critically endangered species, were released on Friday into the Yangtze River.
The release was carried out at the mouth of the river in Shanghai. The freed sturgeons were all 1.6 meters long. Workers also freed nearly 60,000 other fish at the same time, including protected Chinese suckers.
The Chinese sturgeon has existed for more than 140 million years. The fish has top national protection, as economic development, pollution and illegal fishing have driven it to the verge of extinction.
Progress has been made in protection of aquatic animals in the Yangtze in recent years with fishing bans, creation of nature reserves and action against illegal fishing, said Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu.
The Chinese sturgeon nature reserve at the mouth of the Yangtze was established in 2002. Since 2004, authorities have freed artificially-bred fish 17 times, involving nearly 500 Chinese sturgeon.