(August 14, 2012) Having survived dinosaurs and the Ice Age, China’s legendary Paddlefish has met its gravest threat – Chinese Communist Party officials intent on building dams on the Yangtze to inflate their economic achievements, but that block fish migratory routes.
China’s State Council issues death sentence for legendary Yangtze fish
(January 6, 2012) The Xiaonanhai hydro project slated for the Yangtze River poses a threat to China’s most precious wild fish and the supremacy of the law, say Chinese environmentalists and scientists.
Chinese geologist Fan Xiao’s open letter urging Chinese officials not to destroy rare fish reserve (translated by Probe International)
(March 25, 2011) Chinese geologist and environmentalist Fan Xiao has sent a letter to high ranking Chinese officials, urging them not to destroy the rare fish conservation zone they’ve created on the Yangtze. Plans are in the works to build the Xiaonanhai dam within the conservation zone, which would be the second time the Government redrew the zone to accommodate dams. Building the dam would violate the government’s own environmental protection rules, and would put over 100 rare species of fish at risk. He calls for public hearings and an administrative review, in hopes of convincing officials to abandon the plan.
Last refuge of rare fish threatened by Yangtze dam plans
(January 18, 2011) Developers of hydroelectric plant have redrawn the boundaries of a crucial freshwater reserve for rare and economically important species, writes the Guardian’s Jonathan Watts.