On July 30, 2022, Yichang, Hubei Province, a finless porpoise leaps out of the water downstream of the Gezhouba Dam. People's Vision Data Map
Following 2006, 2012 and 2017, the 4th scientific expedition to the Yangtze River finless porpoise was officially launched in Wuhan on September 19. This is the first systematic survey of species in the Yangtze River Basin after the implementation of the comprehensive ban on fishing in the Yangtze River and the promulgation of the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of the Yangtze River".
This scientific expedition will comprehensively grasp the population distribution and habitat environment status of the Yangtze finless porpoise, evaluate the population, structure and changing trend of the Yangtze finless porpoise as a whole, and scientifically analyze the risk factors of the Yangtze finless porpoise and the effect of protection measures, so as to formulate more targeted Yangtze finless porpoises. The finless porpoise protection plan provides the basis.
This scientific expedition was organized by the Yangtze River Basin Fishery Administration Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the fishery authorities of the 6 provinces (cities) in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, relevant scientific research institutes and social organizations jointly participated. More than 120 expedition team members and more than 20 fishery administration boats will be implemented simultaneously, covering the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Poyang Lake, Dongting Lake and some tributaries of the Yangtze River where the Yangtze finless porpoise is distributed.
The Hubei section of the Yangtze River is one of the important habitats for the Yangtze finless porpoise. Since 2020, the Yangtze finless porpoise has appeared more than 20 times and nearly 210 times in the river section of Wuhan urban area. In the river section of Yichang City, there is a group of finless porpoises active all year round in a water area, which has become a "Internet celebrity check-in point" for dolphin lovers. In the Qianjiang section of the Han River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, finless porpoises have been discovered for the first time in more than 30 years.
The Yangtze finless porpoise is a national first-class protected wild animal, which belongs to the endemic freshwater cetaceans of the Yangtze River, and is an important indicator species for evaluating the status of the Yangtze River ecosystem.
The results of the scientific investigation of the Yangtze finless porpoise in 2017 showed that the number of the Yangtze finless porpoise was about 1,012, and the population was critically endangered.