A third of all fish species in China's once-mighty Yellow River have become extinct, killed off by pollution, hydroelectric dams, falling water levels and over-fishing, a study has found.
China's second longest river has been reduced to barely a stream in many areas, sometimes even drying up before it reaches the sea.
According to China's agriculture ministry, the river used to be host to more than 150 species of fish, but a third has now disappeared.
As well as species disappearing, overall fish stocks, once vital to communities along the 5,500 km river, have plummeted.
Annual fishing catches from the river have fallen more than 40 per cent in recent years, the official China Daily newspaper reported.
"It can be mainly blamed on hydropower projects that block fish's migration routes, declining water flow caused by scarce rainfall, over-fishing and severe pollution," an unnamed ministry official was quoted as saying.
China's sorrow
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China's rivers have seen soaring pollution
levels in recent years [EPA] |
The Yellow River is the main river in northern China and was once known as "China's sorrow" because of its regular flooding.
But in many areas the river, which is the primary water source for more than 150 million people, now barely manages more than trickle.
China's rivers have been hit hard by pollution caused by the country's rapid economic growth.
This month Pan Yue, the head of China's main environmental body, the State Environmental Protection Agency, said 2006 had been the worst year yet for the country's environment.
In December, an international conservation group declared one of China's rarest mammals, the Yangtze River Dolphin or baiji, most likely extinct.
The group said soaring pollution levels in the Yangtze, China's longest river, was the primary reason for the animal's demise.