Aboard the cruise for almost an hour, the Yangtze Finless Porpoises were sighted several times.

More than 100 volunteers from various parts of China set out on the first Porpoises Watching Cruise Trip. Aboard the cruise for almost an hour, the Yangtze Finless Porpoises were sighted several times.  

"This year, several Yangtze finless porpoises were found dead from rolling hooks, electric fishing nets, etc. Fishermen didn’t mean to really hurt the Yangtze finless porpoises, but fishermen live by fishing.” said Dr. Wang Kexiong, Associate Professor of Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IHB) and deputy secretary-general of Wuhan Baiji Conservation Foundation.  

Recent years, the dry season in Poyang Lake is longer than before. Fishermen now often resort to trapping nets or electric fishing gears to capture fishes. This harmful fishing methods directly injures the endangered aquatic animals including Yangtze finless porpoises. 

Proposed by Aquatic Wild Fauna and Flora Administrative Office, Ministry of Agriculture of China, organized by Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Poyang Lake Fishery Administrative Bureau, this newly launched event is planned to train the fishermen as qualified tourist to guide the public in watching the Yangtze finless porpoises. The fishermen thus have another new choice of living so that the harmful fishing practice in Poyang Lake region can be reduced. It is hoped that the Cruise Trip can bring vigor and vitality to the tourist development of this region as well. 

More than 100 volunteers from various parts of China set out on the first Porpoises Watching Cruise Trip.

As part of the Yangtze finless porpoises conservation plan for the next decade, the Porpoises Watching Cruise Trip is the beginning of the "Three projects of Yangtze finless porpoises conservation”. Advocating the concept “Protecting natural resources, Promoting social and economic sustainable development”, this event will accelerate the pace of Yangtze finless porpoise conservation in Poyang Lake and promote the economic sustainable development of Poyang Lake region. 

In the second half of the year, IHB will successively conduct the population survey of Yangtze finless porpoises in Poyang Lake and its tributaries, and re-establish the natural habitat of Yangtze finless porpoises in Duchang waters.  

Poyang Lake, located in Jiangxi Province, is the largest freshwater lake in China. It boasts the most intensive and largest number of the natural population of Yangtze finless porpoises. There are about 450 Yangtze finless porpoises living in the lake. Connecting Poyang Lake to the Yangtze River, Hukou County boasts about 80 Yangtze finless porpoises. The relatively large population of Yangtze finless porpoises makes Hukou County suitable to be a pilot location to conduct this event.