Protecting the Yangtze Finless Porpoise: Measures for Preventing

and Controlling Water Pollution in the Yangtze River

Qiuxinyang Kong

The Albany Academies, 135 Academy Road, Albany, New York 12208, U.S.A.

Keywords: Yangtze Finless Porpoise, Water Pollution, Conservation Strategies, Habitat Degradation.

Abstract: The Yangtze finless porpoise, an ecologically vital species, is currently facing severe threats from water

pollution in its native habitat, the Yangtze River. This study examines the various sources of this pollution,

which include industrial discharge, agricultural runoff, and domestic waste, and assesses their adverse effects

on the porpoise population. Notable impacts include increased mortality, reproductive challenges, and loss of

habitat. The paper evaluates the effectiveness of existing conservation strategies and governance mechanisms,

highlighting the need for stricter enforcement of pollution control laws and the establishment of protected

areas. It also suggests the integration of advanced water treatment technologies and a comprehensive

monitoring system involving both governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. The article underscores

the importance of community engagement and education, as well as international cooperation in conservation

efforts, to ensure the long-term survival of the Yangtze finless porpoise. This comprehensive approach aims

to mitigate the negative effects of pollution and foster a sustainable environment for this critical species.

1 INTRODUCTION

The finless porpoise is a small toothed whale

belonging to the mammalian class, cetacea, toothed

whale suborder, porpoise family, and finless porpoise

genus. The finless porpoise is small in size, with a

blunt and round head, no dorsal fin, and an unequal

number of small spines in the middle of the back. It

has a flat tail fin, with a body length of 130~160 cm

as adults. It is distributed in tropical and subtropical

coastal waters and rivers in Asia, mainly in the Pacific

coast of Japan, the Sea of Japan, the Seto Inland Sea

and the coastal waters of Korea in the north, the

northern Java Islands in Indonesia in the south, and

the coast of the Persian Gulf in the west. The finless

porpoise is distributed in China's coastal waters and

rivers, lakes and estuaries, such as the lower reaches

of the Yalu River, the middle and lower reaches of the

Yangtze River, and the Qiantang River. In the

Yangtze River, finless porpoises are found in the

lower reaches of the Yichang River and the Tongjiang

Lake. They can enter the Dongting Lake and even

trace the Nanxiang River, and can also be seen in

Poyang Lake and the connected Ganjiang River

(Zhang, 2012).

However, since 2006, the water ecology in the

middle and lower parts of the Yangtze River basin has

been declining due to extreme weather and increased

human activity. In particular, regions like Poyang

Lake and Dongting Lake have witnessed numerous

deaths of finless porpoises. To better understand the

population of Yangtze finless porpoises, the Institute

of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of

Sciences, in collaboration with the World Wide Fund

for Nature (WWF), the Wuhan Baiji Dolphin

Conservation Foundation (WBCF), and various

government entities, have jointly conducted several

field investigations focusing on these porpoises

(Xiong and Huang, 2022). At the same time, relevant

scientific research institutions, dolphin protection

institutions, and fishery management institutions

from China and abroad actively participated in the

event to show their attention. These initiatives aimed

to investigate the critically endangered Yangtze

finless porpoise, assess its population status and

habitat status, and hope to find the rarer baiji porpoise

once again. The focus and efforts directed towards the

finless porpoise population hold immense historical

importance for safeguarding not only the Yangtze

finless porpoise but also the entire ecosystem of the

Yangtze River.

158

Kong, Q.

Protecting the Yangtze Finless Porpoise: Measures for Preventing and Controlling Water Pollution in the Yangtze River.

DOI: 10.5220/0013852300004914

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Renewable Energy and Ecosystem (ICREE 2024), pages 158-162

ISBN: 978-989-758-776-4

The Yangtze finless porpoise stands as a pivotal

species in the ecosystem of the Yangtze River, as

evidenced by recent data. However, it faces severe

threats, primarily stemming from illegal fishing and

water pollution, with the latter exhibiting a broader

and more pressing impact. This article thus aims to

dissect the causes of water pollution, its ramifications

on finless porpoises, and evaluate existing remedial

measures.

2 WATER POLLUTION IN THE

YANGTZE RIVER

The current state of water pollution in the Yangtze

River reveals alarming trends attributed to various

factors. Industrial effluents, agricultural runoff, and

urban waste contribute significantly to the

degradation of water quality, posing severe

challenges to the survival of aquatic life.

2.1 Current Status of the Yangtze

River

Human civilization has embarked on water since

ancient times, and human beings are as dependent on

water as babies are on milk. The Yangtze River, being

the largest in China, holds an indispensable position

in the country's social and economic development.

However, such a golden waterway, which is also

unique in the world, has now become a sewer for

human beings on both sides of the river to discharge

wastewater. All kinds of waste and garbage have been

poured into it to have made the Yangtze River more

and more polluted. Increasing pollution is turning the

Yangtze River into severe danger. Pollution causes

serious harm to a variety of fish forage organisms,

such as plankton and benthic organisms, destroys the

food chain of fish, and directly affects the growth of

fish. In particular, those precious aquatic creatures

including finless porpoises are in danger of

extinction, and more aquatic creatures are also facing

a survival crisis. If effective countermeasures are not

taken in time, it won't be much time before all aquatic

creatures in the Yangtze River are eradicated (Wang

and Wang, 2004).

2.2 Causes

The main sources of water pollution in the Yangtze

River include soil erosion, farmland drainage,

industrial sewage discharge in the whole basin, oil

pollution discharge from mainstream transport ships

and man-made solid waste. Recently, with the rapid

development of industry and agriculture in the basin,

the scale of cities has been expanding, and the

pollution of surface water bodies in the basin has

become increasingly serious. The discharge of

sewage outlets along the River is the root cause of

near-shore pollution in the mainstream and its larger

tributaries. There are more than 400 sewage outlets

below Panzhihua city in the mainstream of the

Yangtze River, and most of them are located on the

shore. The mainstream of the River serves as the

primary water source for cities and towns along its

banks, with over 500 water intakes of various kinds

currently in operation. These intakes are all subject to

varying degrees of influence from pollution along the

riverbanks. Over years, as economic development has

surged in the Yangtze Basin, sewage discharge across

the entire basin has been increasing at a rate of 3%

annually. A significant portion of this sewage is being

directly released into the river without adequate

treatment. Moreover, there are over 100,000 ships

navigating the mainstream, the majority of which lack

oil-water separation and domestic sewage treatment

devices. Consequently, millions of tons of oily

sewage, nearly 100 million tons of domestic sewage,

and 750 million tons of household garbage are being

discharged into the Yangtze River annually. This

constitutes a significant and mobile pollution source

that cannot be overlooked in the context of the

Yangtze River (Yin, 2003).

Besides, pollution incidents and ship accidents,

involving the capsizing of vessels carrying various

chemicals such as sulfuric acid, luminol, kerosene,

and crude oil, have exacerbated the degradation of

water resources in the Yangtze River. According to

statistics, in 1997 and 1998, there were 63 and 70 ship

accidents in the mainstream of the Yangtze River.

Moreover, non-utilitarian solid waste, such as expired

newspapers, glass bottles, metal cans, paper cups,

plastic bottles, abandoned vehicles, rubber, slag,

animal skins, dust, sludge, and food residues, has

been indiscriminately discarded into the Yangtze

River. The substantial accumulation of solid waste

along the Yangtze River constitutes another

significant factor contributing to the pollution of its

water quality. In 1992, the annual production of solid

waste in the Three Gorges Reservoir area alone

reached 4.62 million tons, and the stockpile reached

21.7 million tons. These untreated solid wastes were

washed by floods and leached by rainwater, and

various toxic and harmful substances in them were

easy to enter the water body and seriously polluted

Protecting the Yangtze Finless Porpoise: Measures for Preventing and Controlling Water Pollution in the Yangtze River

159

the water quality. There were nearly 20 million tons

of industrial and domestic waste stored below the

submerged line in the towns along the river below

Chongqing, and there was no domestic waste

treatment plant that met the national standard. A large

number of graves, toilets and hospital sewage were

stored in the towns below the submerged line, as well

as various mines and slags, all of which were leached

out and spread into the water body in large quantities

(Dong et al., 2000).

3 THE IMPACTS ON FINLESS

PORPOISES

The Yangtze finless porpoise, with its dwindling

population and restricted habitat, faces grave

consequences due to water pollution. Direct mortality

events, as well as reproductive impairments, have

been observed, exacerbating the species' decline.

Furthermore, deteriorating water conditions lead to

the shrinking of viable habitats, exacerbating the

porpoise's plight.

3.1 The Declining Finless Porpoise

According to the survey data from 1984 to 1991, the

number of finless porpoises in the Yangtze River was

estimated to be 2,700, of which about 500 were in the

section from Yichang to Wuhan and about 2,200 in

the section below Wuhan. According to the results of

the 2006 Yangtze River Freshwater Dolphin

Expedition, the population of the Yangtze finless

porpoise was about 1,800 by the end of 2006, which

means a decline at a rate of about 5% per year. The

Yangtze finless porpoise has been listed as a national

second-class protected animal and is listed as an

endangered species by the International Union for

Nature Conservation Commission on Species

Survival (IUCN-SSC). Given its endangered status

and deteriorating living environment of the Yangtze

finless porpoise, the Chinese government has been

working hard to upgrade it to a national first-class key

protected species. Six years later, Chinese scientists

set sail again in November 2012 at the dock in Wuhan

to explore the Yangtze finless porpoise along the

Wuhan-Yichang-Wuhan-Shanghai-Wuhan line in the

middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The

2012 Yangtze River Freshwater Dolphin Expedition

was organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, with

the participation of the Institute of Hydrobiology of

the Chinese Academy of Sciences(the Institute), the

World Wide Fund (WWF) and the Wuhan Baiji

Dolphin Conservation Foundation. A scientific

expedition team composed of nearly 40

representatives, as well as volunteers, launched an

expedition to the mainstream (Wang and Guo, 2022).

3.2 The Severe Impact of Water

Pollution on the Finless Porpoise

In 2006, the Yangtze River freshwater dolphin survey

found no baiji dolphins, and the number of finless

porpoises was found to have dropped sharply, to only

about 1,800 individuals. According to estimates at the

time, if no effective measures were taken, the number

of finless porpoises could fall to 200 by the year of

2035, reaching the critically endangered standard of

the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Before the

start of the 2012 expedition, the team conducted a

pre-survey of the two remaining large lakes on the

River, Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake, at the end of

October. A preliminary survey of the two lakes

revealed that there were about 450 finless porpoises

in Poyang Lake and about 90 in Dongting Lake.

Compared with the results of the 2006 expedition, the

number of finless porpoises in Dongting Lake has

decreased significantly, and the distribution area has

also narrowed to the waters from the catfish mouth of

East Dongting Lake to Yueyang City. This indicated

that the living environment of the finless porpoise had

further deteriorated.

4 DISCUSSION

As a particular species of the Yangtze River

ecosystem, the finless porpoise is a direct reflection

of the health status of the River. After those

investigations, the Institute has been revising and

improving the Rescue Action Plan, which will be

submitted to the Ministry for approval and official

release. The plan proposes to comprehensively

strengthen the protection of finless porpoises and

their habitats through a three-pronged approach of

natural population and habitat conservation, ex-situ

conservation and artificial breeding research.

4.1 Existing Methods

Existing governance methods aimed at curbing water

pollution exhibit varying degrees of effectiveness.

While some strategies show promise, others fall short

of addressing the root causes adequately.

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The Institute is mainly engaged in freshwater

ecology and aquatic life conservation and applied

research. Since the 70s the last century, it has been

committed to the research and protection of the

finless porpoise in the Yangtze River and has put

forward three major conservation countermeasures:

in situ conservation, ex-situ conservation and

artificial breeding protection. At the same time, it

carried out multidisciplinary comprehensive research

on the conservation biology of the finless porpoise.

Since the 90s of last century, under the guidance and

support of the aquatic wildlife protection department,

the Institute has promoted the establishment of

several national, provincial and municipal nature

reserves, ex-situ protected areas in the mainstream of

the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River

and Tongjiang lakes. Since 1992, researchers from

the Institute have moved a small group of Yangtze

finless porpoises from the mainstream to the ex-situ

porpoise reserve in Shishou Tian’ezhou, Hubei

Province, and carried out ex-situ conservation

research. In addition, there are 7 Yangtze finless

porpoises raised in the Baiji Dolphin House of the

Aquatic Institute, which is currently the only captive

breeding group of Yangtze finless porpoises. At

present, the Institute of Aquatic Sciences is assisting

the Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Office of the

Ministry of Agriculture in revising the Yangtze

Finless Porpoise Rescue Action Plan. The plan is an

important guiding document for the conservation of

freshwater dolphins in the Yangtze River in China for

a long time (Yu, Dong and Wang, 2002).

4.2 Prospective Suggestions

Suggestions for enhancing regulatory frameworks

and implementing stricter enforcement mechanisms

could bolster conservation endeavors and safeguard

the Yangtze finless porpoise's future.

The WWF, recognized as one of the world's

foremost and autonomous non-governmental

environmental conservation organizations, began its

operations in China during the 1980s. Within the

Yangtze basin, the WWF designates the Yangtze

finless porpoise as one of its three flagship species,

alongside the giant panda and the snow leopard. The

organization has maintained a longstanding

commitment to and advocacy for the conservation of

the finless porpoise. In the coming five years, WWF

will strengthen the protection action of finless

porpoises in the following four aspects: 1)Drawing

lessons from the successful model of the Tian’ezhou

Ex-situ Conservation Area and leveraging the

geographical advantages of the Yangtze River to

encourage the establishment of additional ex-situ

protected zones. 2)Intensifying efforts to combat

illegal fishing, bolster pollution control measures and

law enforcement, reduce the discharge of sewage into

rivers, and enhance societal oversight to mitigate

harm to the finless porpoise. 3)Advocating for the

recognition of the Yangtze finless porpoise as a

nationally designated first-class protected species.

4)Urging the government to enact the rescue action

plan aimed at fortifying protection measures for the

entire population and habitat of the Yangtze finless

porpoise. (Shan, 2019).

4.3 Potential Reviews: Raising

Awareness of Water Conservation

Although the water resources are relatively abundant,

the total amount is still limited, and the spatial and

temporal distribution is uneven. For an extended

period, there has been a widespread belief that the

Yangtze possesses a vast and seemingly limitless

water supply. People often do not pay attention to

cherishing, saving and protecting water resources,

especially the development of industry and cities. It

has paid large attention to economic benefits and

ignored environmental protection, sewage and

wastewater discharge at will so that the water

environment in the Yangtze River basin is

deteriorating day by day. The result is affecting

human health, restricting economic development, and

affecting the sustainable usage of water resources.

Mankind is in an important historical period, and we

must renew our thinking and raise our awareness of

the importance of protecting water resources for the

implementation of sustainable development.

Preserving the water resources of the Yangtze River

is a collective responsibility that requires mobilizing

the entire society. It's essential to rally all sectors of

society through intensified advocacy, education, and

public oversight, ensuring widespread understanding

and adherence to water-related laws. Strengthening

public awareness of water resource protection is

crucial, with a particular emphasis on fostering a

conscious commitment to environmental stewardship

among leaders at all levels. This involves ingraining

values of valuing, cherishing, and safeguarding water

resources as integral behaviors of the populace. The

protection of water resources should be managed in a

unified manner by the principles of integrating water

resources and the water environment, so as to achieve

macro-control and formulate and plan the objectives,

measures and requirements (Chen, 2013).

Water resources in the Yangtze River basin play

an irreplaceable role in China’s sustainable

Protecting the Yangtze Finless Porpoise: Measures for Preventing and Controlling Water Pollution in the Yangtze River

161

development. The current Constitution stipulates the

principles of the State for the protection of the

environment, and the prevention and control of

pollution and other public hazards. The shortcoming

is that it does not explicitly regard sustainable

development as the guiding ideology for the

protection of the environment and resources. This

problem also exists in China’s Environmental

Protection Law and other laws and regulations related

to environmental protection, pollution prevention and

control, and protection of natural resources. However,

China’s 10 major countermeasures for environment

and development, as well as the White Paper and

Outline, all regard the implementation of the strategy

of sustainable development as a major strategy for

modernization. This shows that there is a disconnect

between China’s environmental and resource laws

and environmental and resource policies. In addition,

China’s individual natural resources law was

formulated in the 80s of the 20th century, because the

guiding ideology did not regard ecological

environmental protection as an important legislative

purpose, and there was a lack of specific provisions

on ecological environmental protection in the

development of natural resources, it was difficult for

the laws of these natural resources to meet the needs

of ecological environmental protection. The

Constitution should therefore be amended in due

course to include a sustainable development

component. Sustainable development is based on the

protection of natural resources and the environment,

and development and resources and environmental

protection are interrelated, and they constitute an

organic whole, which should be reflected in the

fundamental law of the country (Chen, Shi and Wang

2003).

5 CONCLUSION

The Yangtze finless porpoise faces a dire predicament

due primarily to persistent water pollution in its

natural habitat. Our findings reveal that the key

pollutants—industrial waste, agricultural runoff, and

domestic sewage—are critically impairing the river

ecosystem, thereby affecting the porpoise's survival

through direct toxicity, disruption of food sources,

and degradation of breeding areas.

The analysis underscores the inadequacy of

current environmental governance and conservation

strategies in effectively mitigating these impacts. For

a viable future for the Yangtze finless porpoise, the

paper advocates for the implementation of advanced

pollution control technologies and stricter regulatory

frameworks.

Additionally, the paper calls for enhanced

protective measures such as the creation of designated

sanctuaries. Fostering community involvement and

promoting international collaborative efforts are

essential for the long-term conservation of this

endangered species. These comprehensive measures

are crucial not only for the porpoise but also for

preserving the ecological balance of the Yangtze

River ecosystem.

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