As of the end of December 2024, 300 out of 357 hydropower dams on the Xich Thuy River, a large branch of the Duong Tu, have been demolished, Tan Hoa Xa informed.
In addition, 342 out of 373 small hydropower stations on this river have also stopped operating, creating conditions for many rare fish species to restore their natural reproductive cycle.
The Red River is more than 400km long, flowing through the northern, southwestern and northwestern provinces of China. Ecologists consider this river the final shelter for rare and endemic fish species in the upstream of Duong Tu.
For decades, the flow of the Xich Thuy River has been cut off by a dense dam system and hydropower station, reducing the water flow downstream, even with a section with dry bottom.
This situation has caused the habitats and breeding grounds of fish species to be seriously narrowed. The migration route between breeding and fish species is also blocked.
Professor Chu Kien Quan - majoring in hydraulic engineering at Tsinghua University - said that the suspension of hydropower stations is often understood as stopping power generation.
"The important thing is not whether these projects are completely demolished or not, but after stopping power generation, the way the water flow is regulated will be adjusted to meet ecological needs" - he said.
The natural population of sturgeon has declined sharply since the 1970s, mainly due to the construction of dams and the development of the marine transportation industry on the Yangtze River.
According to Xinhua News Agency, no young sturgeon has been naturally reproduced on the entire Yangtze River since 2000, but a team of scientists from the Institute of Hydrology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has reported promising signs of recovery.
The research team, led by Liu Fei, a researcher in Wukong, released two batches of Duong Tu sturgeon into the Xich Thuy River in 2023 and 2024. They have successfully adapted to the wild and are thriving.
According to Tan Hoa commune, a large-scale adjustment campaign starting in 2020 has helped many aquatic species, including Duong Tu sturgeon, gradually restore their habitat and vitality.
Experts assess that the current ecological environment of the Xich Thuy River is qualified to meet the living and reproductive needs of the Yang Zi fish.
According to the latest monitoring results of the Institute of Biology and Hydrology, the underwater biodiversity of the Xich Thuy River is improving steadily, with the number of fish species in many river sections increasing significantly.
China has implemented a series of policies to protect the key role of the Yangtze River as an ecological corridor, focusing on the 10-year fishing ban imposed since 2020 and tightening the operation of small hydropower stations that affect biodiversity.
