On October 12, the Yangtze River Diversity Aquatic Life Science Exhibition kicked off at Rongchuang Sea World in Kunming. The public can learn and understand the diversity of Yangtze River aquatic organisms such as Chinese sturgeon and Yangtze River sturgeon through sturgeon visits and science popularization corridors at Kunming Rongchuang Sea World, and raise awareness of biodiversity protection.

This science exhibition is sponsored by the Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Branch of the China Wildlife Conservation Association and the Chinese Sturgeon Conservation Alliance. It is co-organized by the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, the East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, and the Freshwater Fisheries Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan University, Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Changyu Yangtze River Aquatic Biological Protection Foundation, Yangtze River Ecological Protection Foundation (CCF), and Yangtze Finless Porpoise Science and Education Center. Kunming Rongchuang Sea World hosted the event and received guidance from the Yangtze River Basin Fishery Supervision and Management Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Yunnan Province.

Li Yanliang, President of the Aquatic Wildlife Protection Branch of the China Wildlife Conservation Association, Zhang Mu, First-level Inspector of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Yunnan Province, Cai Yong, Fisheries and Fisheries Administration Bureau of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Yunnan Province, Wei Qiwei, researcher of the Yangtze River Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wang Limin the Chinese Sturgeon Conservation Alliance, Song Tianqi, director of Kunming Rongchuang Sea World, attended the opening ceremony.

The Chinese sturgeon is called the "giant panda in the water", and the Yangtze sturgeon is a precious "Yangtze River treasure". It coincides with the COP15 session, and the Chinese sturgeon and the Yangtze sturgeon appeared in Kunming together, which is of great practical significance. On the one hand, it will help hold the COP15 conference, shorten the distance between the public's participation, and establish and strengthen public awareness of biodiversity protection through visiting science exhibitions. On the other hand, with the help of the COP15 conference, society's attention and protection of Chinese sturgeon will be further expanded.

Li Yanliang, president of the Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Branch of the China Wildlife Conservation Association, said: "The Chinese sturgeon grows in the Yangtze River and grows in the sea. Its survival history exceeds that of giant pandas. However, due to the hidden and widely distributed aquatic living environment, the protection of Chinese sturgeon is much more difficult than that of giant pandas."

"All things have their harmony to survive, and each has their nourishment to thrive." Biodiversity makes the earth full of vitality and is also the basis for human survival and development. Protecting biodiversity helps maintain the earth's homeland and promotes sustainable development of mankind. The theme of COP15 is "Building a Community for Life on Earth". 71% of the earth's surface is covered by water, and the protection of aquatic biodiversity cannot be ignored.

Song Tianqi, director of Kunming Rongchuang Sea World, said: "The Yangtze River Diversity Aquatic Life Science Exhibition is an important way for the public to understand the aquatic biodiversity of the Yangtze River, the ecological environment of the Yangtze River Basin and the achievements of Yangtze River protection. Kunming Rongchuang Sea World serves as Kunming City science popularization education base, Kunming City Xishan District Youth Science Popularization Demonstration Base, is a practitioner of Dianchi Lake protection. At the same time, it is our unshirkable responsibility to allow more people to participate in the protection of the Yangtze River."

Kunming Rongchuanghai World is one of the few marine halls nationwide that are licensed to raise Chinese sturgeon and Yangtze River sturgeon. Recently, more than 120 Chinese sturgeon and 20 Yangtze River sturgeon have arrived in Kunming Rongchuang Sea World and will be maintained here for a long time. The longest Chinese sturgeon in the school reaches 2.5 meters and the longest Yangtze sturgeon reaches 1.1 meters. Both are artificially bred parent fish. The Chinese sturgeon is relatively large. The largest male sturgeon can reach a body length of more than 2.5 meters and a weight of more than 150 kg, and the female sturgeon can reach a body length of 4 meters and a weight of 680 kg.

The Chinese sturgeon is the oldest vertebrate animal on earth. It lived at the same time as the dinosaurs and is called a living fossil among aquatic organisms. Due to various reasons, it is now on the verge of extinction and is listed as a critically endangered species. In 2013 and 2014, Chinese scientists failed to find wild Chinese sturgeon spawning naturally during two consecutive years of field monitoring activities.

The Yangtze River sturgeon is a national-level protected animal. Historically, it was mainly distributed in the lower reaches of the Jinsha River and the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the main streams and tributaries. In recent years, the amount of wild resources has dropped significantly, and it has become difficult to find in various tributaries. After the implementation of proliferation and release, the amount of resources in the main stream of the Yangtze River has increased.

The Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences is one of the earliest key research institutions in aquatic science in my country. The Jingzhou Taihu Base under it mainly carries out Chinese sturgeon seedling cultivation, adult fish breeding, parent fish cultivation (reserve parent fish) cultivation and proliferation and release. and other scientific research work. It is also the rescue center for wild Chinese sturgeon in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, responsible for rescuing Chinese sturgeon and other rare and endemic fish caught by mistake along the river.

Establishing a fully artificially bred population is one of the most important ways to protect the Chinese sturgeon species. Full artificial reproduction of Chinese sturgeon means that wild individuals obtain seedlings (offspring generation) through artificial reproduction, and then after more than 15 years of worker cultivation to sexual maturity, the cultured individuals are artificially propagated to obtain artificially propagated seedlings (second offspring generation). For Chinese sturgeon that matures late (generally takes 15 years), full artificial reproduction is extremely difficult.

In 2012, the Jingzhou Taihu Base of the Yangtze River Institute achieved a breakthrough in the full artificial reproduction technology of Chinese sturgeon, and 38,000 seedlings were harvested. In 2016, large-scale total artificial breeding was broken through and continuous success was achieved. So far, more than 300,000 second-generation Chinese sturgeon seedlings have been obtained. The major breakthrough in large-scale all-artificial breeding of Chinese sturgeon marks the success of all-artificial conservation of Chinese sturgeon and lays the foundation for large-scale proliferation and release of Chinese sturgeon and resource conservation.

On April 16, 2016, scientific researchers from the Endangered Fish Protection Discipline Group selected 3 male fish and 2 female fish, and went through the processes of inducing labor, sperm collection, egg collection, artificial insemination, de-adhesion of fertilized eggs, and incubation. A total of about 64,000 fertilized eggs were obtained, and more than 30,000 second-generation Yangtze sturgeon larvae were successfully incubated. This is the fourth consecutive year since the full artificial reproduction of the Yangtze sturgeon since 2013. This achievement marks the maturity of the Yangtze River sturgeon full artificial breeding technology at the Yangtze River Institute.

Kunming Rongchuanghai World will carry out science education on the protection of aquatic biodiversity in the Yangtze River through exhibitions in the science popularization corridor, on-site explanations, and visits to Chinese sturgeon and Yangtze River sturgeon. Protecting and saving the Chinese sturgeon is of far-reaching practical significance for the development and rational development and utilization of wild animal resources and maintaining ecological balance.

At the same time, Kunming Rongchuanghai World is planning to apply to Kunming's agricultural and fishery authorities to establish a "wildlife rescue base" to fulfill its corporate responsibilities and obligations for wildlife rescue. During the COP15 conference, Kunming Rongchuanghai World was an important window for guests, experts and the general public to understand biodiversity protection and achievements in the Yangtze River Basin.