The Institute of Hydrobiology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences issued a conservation program for Yangtze finless porpoise on July 14, 2012, to improve the living conditions of the porpoise over the next 10 years.

Experts estimate there are about 1,000 finless porpoises in the Yangtze River, fewer than giant pandas, and they are disappearing at an annual rate of 5 percent.

The program, scheduled to be implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture of the PRC in the second half of 2012, includes two parts: namely, a preferential plan and long-term plan. Three methods, including natural conservation, ex-situ conservation and fish-farming, will be taken to protect the animals from extinction.

According to Zhang Xianfeng, deputy secretary of Wuhan Baiji Conservation Foundation, from Nov 10 to Dec 20, 2012 the institute will undertake research into the finless porpoise concerning its population and living distribution by visual observation, acoustic observation, fishgraph and water sampling from Yichang to Shanghai, including Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake.

Zhang said: "Finless porpoise feed on fish and their population as well as distribution is closely related to the distribution and number of fish." Thus, as stipulated in the program, water in natural reserves should be closed to fishing all year round.

Till now, there have been two natural reserves: Yueyang, Hunan province and Poyang Lake, Jiangxi province. New natural reserves will be built in the future, in Huangshi city and Wuxue city in Hubei province; Jiujiang city in Jiangxi province, and Anqing city in Anhui province.

China is the first country to protect cetacean with ex-situ conservation, Zhang said. In the future, scientists will develop new living areas for the animals, but at the same time, the attempts to protect them locally won't be stopped.

For the launch event of the program, Yu Jiang, a voluntary protector and deputy director of Hebei People's Broadcast Station, also published his new book The Tragic National Treasure - the life and death of the Yangtze River dolphin.

Edited by Fu Bo and Brian Salter