The year 2020 opens its doors with the alarming confirmation of a new extinct species: the giant Chinese oarfish up to seven meters long. The animal, Psephurus sword, lived in the Yangtze River, the third longest in the world with more than 6,300 kilometers and the cradle of more than 400 different species. Since 2009, the so-called “king of freshwater fish” has not shown signs of life, but scientists waited for clearer evidence before giving it up for lost.
A study recently published in the journal Science of the Total Environment explains that the species has suffered a clear decline since 1970 as a result of overfishing and the fragmentation of its habitat. Also, in 1981, humans built the Gezhouba Dam, which blocked the migratory habits of an animal that needs to swim upstream to breed and back down again to feed. And the dates coincide. Between 1981 and 2003, the species was observed only 201 times – 95.2% of the sightings were prior to 1995 – which since 1996 has been declared in danger of extinction, according to the red list of the International Union for the Conservation of nature.
The Yangtze River area has undergone intense economic development since the 1950s, with more than 40 cities along its banks. It produces, today, 40% of China’s GDP and sustains a third of its population
In 2003, another reservoir, the Three Gorges reservoir, was built and the situation worsened until it wiped out the last oarfish specimens that, in vain, searched for new incubation places. It was the year in which the last sighting was confirmed. The study by researchers at the Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People’s Republic of China confirms that the species has disappeared completely and probably between 2005 and 2010. During an exhaustive analysis throughout the region , experts have identified 322 different fish species and none of them, “not even a single specimen”, was an oarfish.
The Yangtze River area has undergone intense economic development since the 1950s, with more than 40 cities along its banks. Today, it produces 40% of China’s gross domestic product and sustains a third of its population, according to data from the study. Because of this growth in favor of human welfare, that of animals has been forgotten. More than 70 aquatic animals are classified as protected species on a national or international scale. Under so much industrial pressure and due to water pollution, the ecosystem of the Yangtze River could collapse, according to the study whose main objective is to optimize efforts to conserve a fauna that urgently needs it.
Under so much human pressure and due to water pollution, the Yangtze River ecosystem could collapse
To Carles Lalueza-Fox, researcher at Institute of Evolutionary Biologya mixed center of the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) and the Superior Council of Scientific Investigations (CSIC), unfortunately, is not surprised by these types of alerts. “I am afraid that these notifications will become more and more frequent and in a way show the limits of traditional conservation efforts,” he says. “Although the waters of Chinese rivers have improved in quality in the last two or three years, thanks to government efforts, this improvement seems to have come late not only for this fish, but also, for example, for the baiji, the Yangtze dolphin. , declared extinct in 2006″, he continues. After this disappearance and that of the Chinese tarpon in 2015, the Government of the Asian country banned commercial fishing for 10 years, but it is still not enough.