“Let’s go hand in hand to protect the Chinese sturgeon.” On the morning of March 28, the launching ceremony of the Chinese Sturgeon Protection Day (2023) events jointly sponsored by the Yangtze River Fishery Supervision and Management Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Hubei Province, and the People’s Government of Jingzhou was held at the Tourism Wharf of the Port of Jingzhou. It concurred with the release of Chinese sturgeon to the Yangtze River.

Ma Yi, Director of the Yangtze River Fishery Supervision and Management Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, announced the launch of the event. Following that, Xiang Keqiang, Secretary of the Leading Party Members’ Group and Director of the Hubei Agricultural Development Center, and a member of the Leading Party Members’ Group and Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Hubei Province delivered a speech. Other attendees included Zhou Zhihong, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Jingzhou Municipal Committee and Mayor of Jingzhou, Li Yanliang, Chairman of the National Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Association, Zhou Guiwei, Director of the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Zhou Changjun, a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Jingzhou Municipal Committee and of the Leading Party Members’ Group of the People’s Government of Jingzhou, and Hu Chenghong, Secretary-General of the People’s Government of Jingzhou.

Xiang Keqiang said that holding “Chinese Sturgeon Protection Day” events on March 28 is an application of Xi Jinping's thought on ecological civilization, and it is also a critical measure to protect the aquatic life of the Yangtze River and promote the ecological restoration of the Yangtze River. Apart from being the province with a longer runoff of the Yangtze River than any other counterparts, Hubei features main spawning and feeding grounds as well as fish passages for freshwater fish such as Chinese sturgeon, and a host of research institutions and artificial breeding entities for Chinese sturgeon. As 2023 is the final year of the three-year foundational period of the ten-year fishing ban on the Yangtze River, I hope that everyone will come together and actively brainstorm for good ideas, methods, and measures as positive contributions to the protection of Chinese sturgeon.

After the launching ceremony, Ma Yi, Xiang Keqiang, Zhou Zhihong, and Li Yanliang unveiled the “Yangtze River Aquatic Wildlife Breeding and Release Plaza” in Jingzhou.

It was learned that during the week to promote the event from March 29 to April 2, involved departments will continue to release Chinese sturgeon to the Yangtze River at the Tourism Wharf of the Port of Jingzhou, and launch “I Love Chinese Sturgeon” essay, painting, and photography competitions with prizes for broader public involvement.