Yangtze River Dolphins to be more protected

by amyjudd | September 30, 2008 at 01:26 pm | 693 views | 17 comments | 21 recommendations

The Chinese government are again stepping in to protect the Yangtze River Dolphins from extinction.

They are now going to connect existing reserves of the Baiji dolphin, the most endangered member of the whale family, and the finless porpoise.

The network was initiated by the aquatic and wildlife protection office of the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and is funded by donors including WWF-China.

“WWF started working on Yangtze dolphin conservation as early as 2002 and I am very happy to join the Yangtze Dolphin Network today,” said Dr. Wang Limin, WWF-China’s deputy director of conservation operations. “It is of big significance to dolphin protection efforts in China and around the world.”

Human activities such as illegal fishing, pollution and shipping have hit the Baiji dolphin and finless porpoise hard, causing their numbers to dramatically decline over the last few years.

During a Yangtze Freshwater dolphin expedition in 2006 no Baiji dolphins were found, while the population of the finless porpoise has dropped to an estimated 1,800, half the number found in the 1990s.

“It is necessary to integrate each nature reserve to effectively protect the Baiji dolphin and finless porpoise,” said Fan Xiangguo, director of aquatic wildlife protection at the Ministry of Agriculture.

The Yangtze Dolphin has been helped immensely by the Chinese government, by setting up six nature reserves and two monitoring sites. The dolphin helps protect the river and the people.
The Baiji Dolphin is found only in the Yangtze River in China, and have declined rapidly in recent years due to China industrializing the use of the river for fishing, transportation and hydroelectricity.
In 2006, no Baiji could be found in the river at all, but in 2007, there was a sighting of one, but the mammal is still just teetering on the brink of extinction and is extremely likely to become extinct in the next few years if something is not done right away.

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Barry Artiste

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 14:40 on September 30th, 2008

amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Paschen

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 19:29 on September 30th, 2008

amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.

caybrilei

at 19:47 on September 30th, 2008

caybrilei has contributed a photo to this story.

OldChinaHand1

at 20:53 on September 30th, 2008

This is a photo of the Yangtze River and the South Bank of Chongqing, taken by my father in 1938. It was a beautiful hilly area where the wealthy Chinese and many foreigners had beautiful large homes. For more information go to http://www.willysthomas.net/ChungkingInfo.htm

OldChinaHand1 has contributed a photo to this story.

Rhonda J Mangus

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 21:40 on September 30th, 2008

amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.

doddrobert

at 21:47 on September 30th, 2008

I was in Wuhan, which is the 6th largest city in China, for about a month. The Yangtze River runs through Wuhan and is the world's third longest river. I didn't see blue for a month while I was there because the area is so polluted.

doddrobert has contributed a photo to this story.

randal

at 22:48 on September 30th, 2008

Taken in late August 2008 on a river cruise down the Yangtze between Chongqing and Yichang. By the end of September the river will have risen ~45m -- up to the doorstep of the house on the left.

randal has contributed a photo to this story.

Amitjha

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 23:01 on September 30th, 2008

amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.

knifemaker

at 06:55 on October 1st, 2008

This is at the confluence of the Yangtze and the Jialing rivers, in Chongqing (aka "Chunking"). If you look closely, you can see the two colors mixing, one clear from its direct run off the mountains, the other dim and muddy from the rains pulling sediment from the eroding banks. The polluted haze here is enormous; this was considered a clear day.

For the complete account, go here: http://viewfromtheteahouse.wordpress.com/2008/06/16/weekend-in-chongqing/

knifemaker has contributed a photo to this story.

smacauley2000

at 07:19 on October 1st, 2008

This photo was taken on a cruise down the Yangtze River in May 2008. Although I saw no dolphins, the scenery was beautiful and the water appeared very clean.

smacauley2000 has contributed a photo to this story.

barry08

at 02:56 on October 2nd, 2008

Obviously there was no dolphins at this stretch of the river. This is at Tiger Leaping Gorge. I went as far as Yi chang but saw little in the way of any river life.

barry08 has contributed a photo to this story.

pankaj kumar

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 05:51 on October 6th, 2008

amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.

pookadelic

at 18:54 on October 12th, 2008

yangtze river april 2008

pookadelic has contributed a photo to this story.

Mark Donners (not verified)

at 18:12 on October 18th, 2008

china is a corrupt country and is committing suicide with massive pollution and environmental degradation, uncontrolled greed and corruption, overpopulation and a policy of slavery and repression. They are a model for no one.