The 10th International Symposium on Sturgeon (ISS10)

This presentation synthesizes the status and prospects for Chinese sturgeon passage and reproduction at the Gezhouba and Three Gorges Dams. Currently, no dedicated fish-passage facilities exist at either dam; compensation relies on hatchery propagation and release. The only known natural spawning ground is immediately downstream of Gezhouba, and no natural reproduction has been detected in recent years. Compared with historical conditions, migration distance has been reduced by ~1,175 km, the spawning season has shifted ~1 month later, and preferred spawning velocities are 0.6–1.5 m s⁻¹. Under the Yangtze River Protection Law and the ten-year fishing ban, conservation actions have shown interim progress: releases exceeded one million juveniles in 2024, and F2 fish contributed to reproduction in 2021 (fertilization 77.9%, hatching 89.5%). Looking ahead, we propose three integrated pathways: (1) restore spawning micro-habitats and implement ecological flow windows to trigger natural spawning; (2) optimize passage by adapting international large-sturgeon solutions—elevator/trap-and-sort plus bypass with downstream protection—and evaluate outcomes using verifiable metrics (passage efficiency, delay and injury/mortality, reproductive contribution); and (3) deploy a river-to-estuary-to-shelf high-resolution acoustic telemetry network (augmented by satellite tags as needed) for long-distance, full life-cycle monitoring. Together, these engineering–ecology–monitoring measures outline actionable routes to restore migration and support a self-sustaining population.

Chinese sturgeon; fish passage; spawning habitat; acoustic telemetry