[File photo]

The only Chinese sturgeon spawning site in the country has failed to detect any signs of the fish’s reproduction for three consecutive years, beginning in 2013. The deteriorating reproduction capabilities of the critically endangered animal has many experts worried.

Chinese sturgeons are strictly protected by the Chinese government, sharing the status of “national treasure” with the nation's beloved giant pandas. However, the population of Chinese sturgeons has nevertheless dropped significantly in recent years, mainly due to human activities.

After the construction of the Gezhouba Dam hydroelectric power project in the early 1980s, more than 16 spawning sites for Chinese sturgeons were abandoned. Only one confirmed spawning site is now located near the Gezhouba Dam, and no signs of reproductive activities have been spotted at that site since 2013. The number of migratory sturgeons is less than 100 now, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

According to the report, scientists found a large number of juvenile Chinese sturgeons in a natural reserve in Shanghai in 2015, suggesting that the fish may have found a new spawning site. The Chinese government has carried out research on the fish’s reproduction, but so far no evidence of a new spawning site has been found.

Li Zhiyuan, vice director of the Chinese Sturgeon Research Center of the China Three Gorges Corporation, told Xinhua that sturgeons in captivity are crucial for saving the species.