Also starting in the 1970s were two long
term investigations of the two species of sturgeons
and the paddlefish in the Yangtze River. The first
project was done between 1972–1975, directed by
the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute
(Anonymous 1988). The second project began in
1980, prompted by the construction of Gezhouba
Dam (Fu 1985, Ke et al. 1984, 1985). These research
programs provide the basis for fisheries management
and conservation of the three species of Acipenseriformes
native to the Yangtze River. So far,
A. baerii, A. ruthenus and A. nudiventrisfrom Xingjiang
Province in northwestern China have hardly
been studied.
In the last thirty years, all stocks of sturgeons declined
due to overfishing, construction of hydroelectric
dams, and pollution. The Pearl River population
of A. sinensis and populations of A. dabryanus
and Psephurus gladius in the Yangtze River
have been severely impacted. This paper reviews
the sturgeons and paddlefish in the Amur and
Yangtze rivers, and discusses conservation strategies.