A dozen sleek grey Yangtze finless porpoises glide inside a vast pool at the Institute of Hydrobiology in Wuhan as scientists find ways to protect and breed the rare mammals in China’s longest river.
The Yangtze River is one of the busiest inland waterways in the world with 16 major ports. Cargo shipping volume along the river topped 4 billion metric tons (4.4 billion U.S. tons) in 2024, according to state media.
The finless porpoise has become a barometer of the river’s health. The population of the critically endangered species plunged from over 2,500 in the 1990s to just 1,012 in 2017 due to pollution, boat traffic and illegal fishing that depleted food supplies, researchers said.
The change alarmed the scientific community, including veteran researcher Wang Ding. He led an international team on a 2006 search for Baiji dolphins, another species that was nearing extinction. Despite a nine-day search, not a single dolphin was found and the Baiji was declared functionally extinct. The last captive Baiji dolphin hangs at a museum along with other rare aquatic species.
“We feared that if this animal cannot survive in the Yangtze, the other species will, like dominoes, disappear one by one from the river,” Wang said.
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Captive endangered Yangtze finless porpoises are seen at the Institute of Hydrobiology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province on June 16, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
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Wang Ding, the hydrobiological researcher who has led the protection of the endangered Yangtze finless porpoise, talks about the variety of lifeforms along the Yangtze River at the Institute of Hydrobiology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province on June 16, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
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Children stand near a specimen of a Coelacanth displayed at the Museum of Hydro-biological Sciences in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province on June 16, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
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Wang Ding, the hydrobiological researcher who has led the protection of the endangered Yangtze finless porpoise, stands near specimens and skeletons of aquatic mammals at the Institute of Hydrobiology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province on June 16, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
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Children stand near an aquatic specimen displayed at the Museum of Hydro-biological Sciences in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province on June 16, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
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Specimens of the aquatic life forms found in the Yangtze River is displayed at the Museum of Hydro-biological Sciences in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province on June 16, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
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Specimens of the aquatic life forms found in the Yangtze River is displayed at the Museum of Hydro-biological Sciences in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province on June 16, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
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Examples of aquatic life forms found in the Yangtze River is displayed at the Museum of Hydro-biological Sciences in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province on June 16, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
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A boat is seen along the Yangtze River as the sun sets near Yichang in central China’s Hubei province on June 16, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
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A elderly man wades in the water along the banks of the Yangtze River near Yichang in central China’s Hubei province on June 16, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
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Holding tanks for as many as 3000 critically endangered Chinese Sturgeons are seen at the Rare Fish Conservation Center of the Three Gorges along the Yangtze River in central China’s Hubei province on June 16, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
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Critically endangered Chinese Sturgeons are seen at the Rare Fish Conservation Center of the Three Gorges along the Yangtze River in central China’s Hubei province on June 16, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
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A sculpture depicting dragon boat rowers is seen along the banks of the Yangtze River near Yichang in central China’s Hubei province on June 16, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
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An elderly man walks along the banks of the Yangtze River after swimming near Yichang in central China’s Hubei province on June 16, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
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Residents walk along the river bank near Gezhouba Dam, the first dam on the Yangtze River where the wild finless porpoises have been spotted, near Yichang in central China’s Hubei province on June 16, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
Conservation efforts sprung into place. The Yangtze River Protection Law was enacted in 2021, banning fishing for 10 years, relocating factories and prohibiting sewage and chemical runoffs into the river. Today, the population of Yangtze finless porpoises is edging upward at around 1,300.
To protect the Chinese sturgeon, also a critically endangered species, scientists began artificially breeding and releasing thousands of the fish into the Yangtze with the hope of restoring the wild population.
Scientists have called for additional measures to regulate shipping and for an extension of the 10-year fishing ban.
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