(ECNS) -- Nearly 10,000 tons of bred alien sturgeons and hybrid sturgeons escaped from fish farms in central China's Hubei Province during a flood discharge in July, and are posing a severe threat to more than 300 indigenous fish species in the Yangtze River, including the already rare Chinese sturgeons, Xiamen Daily reported.
An official with the Yangtze River Fisheries Administration under the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture said investigations into the incident, and an assessment of the impact on the environment, are underway.
An expert team sent by the Yangtze River Fisheries Administration said that about 9,800 tons of bred sturgeons died or escaped in large quantities in Changyang and Yidu of Hubei Province after a flood discharge on July 19 at a hydropower station on the Qingjiang River, a branch of the Yangtze River.
The Qingjiang reservoir is one of China's largest sturgeon breeding bases.
Wei Qiwei, who participated in the survey and is a research fellow from the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, said the total quantity of the escaped sturgeons may exceed the existing fish biomass in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze.
Under natural conditions, these alien sturgeons would not come to the Yangtze River, Wei said, adding that they may compete with indigenous species for food and space and even take over the position of Chinese sturgeons in the eco-environment.
He was worried that "pure-blood" Chinese sturgeons would be hard to find again, which is a new threat for the species already on the brink of extinction.
