New survey on finless porpoise to begin

Move expected to give clearer picture of critically endangered ancient species

The Ministry of Agriculture will kick off another survey on finless porpoises along the middle and lower stretches of the Yangtze River and its two connecting lakes on Nov 10.

The survey, to be led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Hydrobiology in Wuhan, Hubei province, and the conservation group World Wildlife Fund in China, will last for around 40 days. Through the survey, which will cover a 3,400-kilometre stretch of the Yangtze from Yichang in Hubei to Shanghai, scientists and authorities hope to get a clearer picture of the status of the ancient species, which was categorized as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2013.