A Turning Tide: The Yangtze River’s Recovery After Decades of Degradation
作者：互联网观察 发布时间：February 14, 2026 分类：互联网观察
According to a study published in the journal Science, researchers report that after the implementation of a ten-year, comprehensive commercial fishing ban, the Yangtze River—whose ecosystem had been deteriorating for decades—is now showing signs of recovery.
Since the 1950s, China’s rapid economic development has led to a severe decline in freshwater biodiversity in the Yangtze River, the country’s largest and longest river. This decline was primarily caused by decades of overfishing and habitat degradation. Although the government has invested heavily in ecological protection and water quality improvement, biodiversity continued to decrease, raising doubts about the effectiveness of conventional restoration measures.
In response, China introduced an unprecedented ten-year fishing ban across the entire Yangtze River basin in 2021, accompanied by strict enforcement and integrated environmental management. By analyzing data from 2018 to 2023, researchers assessed the condition of fish communities before and after the implementation of the ban.
The findings indicate that following the fishing ban, early signs of ecological recovery have emerged in the Yangtze River basin. Fish biomass has more than doubled, and species richness has increased moderately. Larger-bodied species and those at higher trophic levels have shown particularly notable recovery, with both their abundance and health surpassing pre-ban levels. Several endangered and migratory species—as well as the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise—have also exhibited signs of population rebound.