“The population of the Yangtze finless porpoise, the only freshwater porpoise species in China’s longest river, has risen to 1,426 in 2025, indicating that the fishing ban and other conservation efforts are reviving the ecosystem of the Yangtze River.

The figure, released in a 2025 survey, shows an increase of 177 individuals from the previous assessment in 2022 and represents a continued recovery since the decade-long fishing ban launched in 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Friday.

Once numbering about 2,700 in the early 1990s, the flagship species of the Yangtze River fell to just 1,012 by 2017 due to human activities, according to research institutions.”

From China Daily.