The capital of south China's Guangdong Province is to build three freshwater wildlife protection centers, a Guangzhou rescue centre said.

 

The program, which aims to preserve endangered species by moving them to the centers, is to be completed within four years, said Liang Jianhong, director of the Guangzhou Freshwater Wildlife Species Rescue Centre.

 

Setting up the centers is part of a wider campaign in Guangdong to protect the province's aquatic life.

 

According to Liang, the three protection centers will be located in the city's Zengcheng, Huadu and Conghua districts.

 

They will mainly protect species receiving top-level protection, such as the Chinese sturgeon.

 

The Chinese sturgeon, known as a living fossil as it is one of the oldest vertebrates in the world, has existed for more than 200 million years.

 

"But it has become one of the most endangered fish species because of environmental degradation," said Liang.

 

To prevent this rare species from becoming extinct, Guangdong's marine and fisheries departments started to breed sturgeon in 1998.

 

In a large plant for raising sturgeon in Foshan, Guangdong, Liang said, the fish's survival rate is nearly 95 percent.

 

The province has built four such plants, which have raised about 300,000 sturgeon, some of which have already been released into the province's Pearl River, Liang said.

 

Sources with Liang's organization told China Daily that the number of rare and endangered fish species in the Pearl River has climbed to 92, accounting for nearly 12 percent of the nation's total number of such species.

 

"The Pearl River valley has now become an area with lots of endangered fish," Liang said.

 

Besides the Chinese sturgeon, a number of other species, such as the lamprey and the Chinese Tang fish, which can be only found in Guangdong, also need urgent protection, according to Liang.

 

He said his organization is to set up a database to identify other rare and endangered species within the Pearl River valley.

 

"It is expected that nearly 200 species in the river valley will be listed on the database and will be protected," Liang said.

 

He added his department will further promote public awareness about protecting rare species within the valley.

 

(China Daily January 23, 2006)