URUMQI, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese researchers have released more than 30,000 Bighead fish into Bosten Lake in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to replenish the wild population of the endangered carp species.
Bighead fish, also known as "Aspiorhynchus laticeps" in Latin, are endemic to the Tarim River in Xinjiang.
Up to now, a total of 500,000 Bighead fish has been released into Bosten Lake, 200,000 of which were implanted with tracking and marking tags.
Bighead fish were once abundant in the Tarim River, but the species came to the verge of extinction due to harmful human activities such as excessive fishing and ecological environment deterioration. It is under first-class state protection.
In recent years, China has stepped up efforts to rescue the Bighead fish and other endangered species in the Bosten Lake, one of the country's largest inland freshwater lakes, by targeting illegal fishing and releasing captive-bred fry into the wild.
Produced by Xinhua Global Service
