666 Chinese Sturgeons with digital ID tags released into Yangtze River

Yichang released 666 captive-bred Chinese sturgeons into the Yangtze River on Oct. 25 to boost the numbers of the endangered species.

Each of the sturgeons has a 0.3-centimeter-long chip implanted on its back. Developed by the Institute of Hydroecology of the Ministry of Water Resources and the Chinese Academy of Science, the Radio Frequency Identification chips function as “digital identity tags”. With a lifespan of 50 years, the chips will accompany these Chinese sturgeons throughout their lives.

The chips provide researchers with information about the fish, including when and where they were born, their parents, and when they were released.

On average, a one-year-old Chinese sturgeon weighs between 700 and 2900 grams, and is between 60 and 87 centimeters long.

The group released on Tuesday will reach the mouth of the Yangtze River in about a month and live in the ocean for about 10 to 15 years before returning upstream to the Gezhouba Dam in Yichang to spawn.

Classified as a national first-class protected animal, the Chinese sturgeon has gradually lost its natural ability to reproduce and is now on the brink of extinction. China has released 7 million Chinese sturgeons over the past 38 years in an attempt to restore the wild population of the species.

“The aquatic diversity of the Yangtze River is improving thanks to a 10-year fishing ban in the river,” said Dr. Liao Xiaolin of the Institute of Hydroecology of the Ministry of Water Resources and the Chinese Academy of Science. “China plans to release more than a million Chinese sturgeons each year while also stepping up efforts to restore the ecological environment of their spawning sites. Hopefully, they will recover the ability to reproduce in the wild.”