Yidu rises to become ‘the World’s Capital of Sturgeons’
2023-03-04 19:03:49
By Yan Wanqin, Yichang International Communication Studio
At the breeding pond of Hubei Qingjiang Sturgeon Valley in Yidu, hundreds of large sturgeons can be seen swimming around a pool.
The artificial breeding base for sturgeons, called China Sturgeon Valley, now houses over 1.2 million sturgeons across dozens of species, many of them weighing in at over 100 kilograms. Annual caviar production capacity has exceeded 100 tons, with products now being sought after by 10 different countries and regions.
The company has become a global leader in the caviar industry, propelling Yidu into its status as "the World’s Capital of Sturgeons.” Yidu is a part of Yichang City, Hubei province.
At the breeding pond of Hubei Qingjiang Sturgeon Valley in Yidu, hundreds of large sturgeons can be seen swimming around a pool.
The artificial breeding base for sturgeons, called China Sturgeon Valley, now houses over 1.2 million sturgeons across dozens of species, many of them weighing in at over 100 kilograms. Annual caviar production capacity has exceeded 100 tons, with products now being sought after by 10 different countries and regions.
The company has become a global leader in the caviar industry, propelling Yidu into its status as "the World’s Capital of Sturgeons.” Yidu is a part of Yichang City, Hubei province.
Sturgeons swimming in a breeding pool.
The Qing River, a tributary to the Yangtze, pours into the river at Yidu. The river has a year-round water temperature of no more than 23°C, which is the ideal environment for raising sturgeons.
Thanks to its natural advantage, Yidu’s Gaobazhou Reservoir of the Qing River experienced a boom in the aquaculture industry during the 1990s, which included the start of raising sturgeons in fish cages.
However, the fast growth resulted in serious water pollution issues. In 2016, Yidu began dismantling the fish cages that were built in rivers and moved the industry into sturgeon breeding bases.
The China Sturgeon Valley, whose construction began in 2018, now has a 60,000 square meter indoor breeding facility, using recirculating water. The facility is the largest in the world of its kind.
Thanks to its natural advantage, Yidu’s Gaobazhou Reservoir of the Qing River experienced a boom in the aquaculture industry during the 1990s, which included the start of raising sturgeons in fish cages.
However, the fast growth resulted in serious water pollution issues. In 2016, Yidu began dismantling the fish cages that were built in rivers and moved the industry into sturgeon breeding bases.
The China Sturgeon Valley, whose construction began in 2018, now has a 60,000 square meter indoor breeding facility, using recirculating water. The facility is the largest in the world of its kind.
China Sturgeon Valley breeding tourist access.“Compared to a traditional open space fishpond, an advanced in-door plant at the same scale can save 99 percent of land and 95 percent of water," said Ma Min, the executive director of the company.
China Sturgeon Valley has collaborated with several research institutes to develop new technologies, winning 37 patents and becoming recognized as a national high-tech company.
To bolster the industry's development further, Yidu plans to build a new sturgeon industry museum, two caviar experience halls, a sturgeon theme park, and a digital fishing center. The wider sturgeon industry's annual output is expected to reach 10 billion yuan (US$1.45 billion) .
