Efforts to bring back several Chinese aquatic creatures prove fruitful

A population of several protected aquatic species has grown in the Yangtze River since 2021, but the overall decline of aquatic animals has not been fully reversed, agricultural officials said on Tuesday.

The number of spotted seals, green turtles and Chinese white dolphins has steadily increased since the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period started, and the population of Yangtze finless porpoise has stopped shrinking, officials said at a meeting on Tuesday, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The meeting was held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in Shanghai to conserve aquatic wildlife.

The increase was because of improved policy and stricter law enforcement, officials agreed at the meeting.

They said the balancing of conservation efforts with fishery needs remains arduous, and fishery shall be promoted within the limit of environment capacity.

Officials said that the ministry will stick to a decade-long fishing ban imposed in 2020 to recover Yangtze's fish population, improve fishing moratorium policy and conduct more fish release events.

It will also build sea farms to meet the country's growing needs for aquatic products, and strengthen the surveying and monitoring of fishery resources and law enforcement, they said.