The first finless
porpoise rescue center on China's Yangtze River opened Saturday in
the eastern Jiangxi
Province.
The state-level center consists of one
central station in the provincial aquatic products scientific
institution in the capital city Nanchang and three sub-stations in
the counties of Xingzi, Hukou and Duchang.
The center took two years to build and
cost 5.43 million yuan (about US$656,590).
Qian Xin'e, director of the provincial
fishery bureau, said the center will cover more than 5,000 square
km waters of China's biggest freshwater lake Poyang Lake and
Yangtze River's Jiangxi section, measuring 152 kilometers.
A finless porpoise monitoring and
rescue network, centered in Jiangxi, has taken shape, the official
said.
China's finless porpoises are on the
verge of extinction due to environmental pollution and the change
of aquatic ecology.
The Ministry of Agriculture says China
has about 1,000 finless porpoises, 63 of which live in the Poyang
Lake and Yangtze River's Jiangxi section.
(eastday.com March 27, 2005)