China Unveils 10-Year Action Plan to Rescue Endangered Sichuan Taimen

Four Chinese ministries have jointly issued a comprehensive 10-year rescue action plan spanning 2026 to 2035 to protect the Sichuan taimen, a critically endangered salmonid native to the upper Yangtze and Yellow River basins. Historically devastated by dam construction, sand mining, and illegal fishing, the species achieved an artificial breeding breakthrough in 2024. The new roadmap introduces seven core rescue actions and four structural support measures, establishing a coordinated framework spanning in-situ protection, restocking, and habitat restoration.

The Sichuan taimen serves as an indicator species for the ecological integrity of cold-water river systems across the Tibetan Plateau and Qinling Mountains. Because the fish requires clean, fast-flowing highland waters, its severe decline reflected decades of intense fragmentation from hydropower development and riverbed exploitation. Formulating a binding ten-year strategy across four central ministries signals an institutional transition from localized emergency interventions toward systemic ecological governance in the upper reaches of the Yangtze.

Four central government agencies in China have jointly released a dedicated 10-year action plan to rescue the Sichuan taimen, a critically endangered freshwater fish whose survival is widely viewed as a barometer for upper Yangtze River health. The document, titled the Action Plan for the Rescue of Hucho bleekeri (2026–2035), was issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in coordination with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Water Resources, and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, according to a report by People's Daily. The Sichuan taimen, classified under first-class state protection in China, historically inhabited cold-water headstreams including the Dadu and upper Min rivers in Sichuan province, the Mako River in Qinghai province, and upper tributaries of the Han River in Shaanxi province. Decades of intensive hydropower installation, riverbed sand mining, and unauthorized fishing severely fragmented its habitat and decimated wild populations. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, conservation authorities intensified rescue efforts in recent years, achieving a technical breakthrough in full artificial breeding in 2024. That milestone enabled consecutive annual restocking operations over the past four years, yielding preliminary signs of wild population recovery. Nonetheless, officials cautioned that the species' survival outlook remains severe. The new action plan outlines a multi-tiered conservation framework structured around in-situ habitat preservation, captive breeding, restocking releases, wild population reconstruction, and genetic resource banking. It sets two sequential implementation phases: near-term targets running from 2026 through 2030, followed by long-term objectives spanning 2031 through 2035. Under the plan, authorities will carry out seven primary conservation actions, centered on wild population tracking and emergency rescue, backed by four institutional support measures that strengthen legal frameworks and cross-agency coordination. Ministry officials stated that the implementation of the plan will reinforce China's ongoing ten-year Yangtze River fishing moratorium and help secure ecological barriers along the river's upper reaches.