Imagine dedicating two decades of your life to saving fish! 🐟 That's exactly what Professor Liu Haiping is doing in the middle stretch of Asia's longest river, the mighty Yangtze River 🌊.
Professor Liu, from Southwest University's School of Life Science in Chongqing, has been exploring the upper reaches of the Yangtze for 20 years. Fifteen of those years were spent in the remote zones of the Xizang Autonomous Region (also known as Tibet). Since settling in Chongqing, he's been on a mission to bring back rare fish species from the brink of extinction.
\"There are about 180 kinds of fish in Chongqing,\" says Professor Liu. \"Some are unique to the Yangtze River, but a few are endangered. For these rare fish, we need special techniques to keep them alive.\"
One of these techniques is germplasm conservation. It's like selecting the best of the best fish with superpowers—strong disease resistance and awesome genes—to breed stronger generations. 💪🐠
\"Germplasm conservation isn't as far from our daily lives as you might think,\" explains Liu. \"Think about goldfish! 🎏 We pick the ones with the coolest colors and shapes to breed. That's germplasm conservation in action.\"
His team is building a germplasm resources bank for species in the upper Yangtze. Their goal? To breed and release one million rare and unique fish back into the river! Imagine the comeback story! 🎉
\"As aquaculture specialists, we aim to ensure these endangered fish are still around hundreds or even thousands of years from now,\" Liu shares. \"We hope that one day, these rare fish will be everywhere. That's the result we hope to see in the long run.\"
Thanks to efforts like Liu's and a 10-year fishing ban that started in 2021, the endangered fish population in the Yangtze River is bouncing back. 🌱🐟 Conservationists and scientists are making waves, literally!
Reference(s):
University professor leads biodiversity efforts in upper Yangtze River
cgtn.com
