BEIJING, April 4 -- A giant sturgeon was getting used to its new home at the Beijing Aquarium yesterday watched by a huge crowd of visitors and staff.

    The fish arrived after a 24-hour trip from Jingzhou, Central China's Hubei Province.

    The sturgeon, 3.2 metres long and weighing in at 222 kilograms, was captured last October in the Yangtze River. Experts predict it is aged between 20 and 30.

    Facing possible extinction, the Chinese sturgeon has been nicknamed the "panda of the water." Experts believe the species to be 140 million years old.

    Before Sunday, another 11 sturgeons will plop down in the aquarium from Jingzhou, according to the aquarium's General Manager Hu Weiyong.

    From April 22, a total of 26 Chinese sturgeons will be on show at the aquarium for the public, Hu said.

    Researchers and zoo workers will simulate to the best of their ability the fish's natural environment at the aquarium, and hope to find an effective method of breeding the fish artificially, Hu said.

    According to Zou Guiwei, deputy director of the Jingzhou-based Yangtze River Fishery Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Fishery Science, the rare fish, mostly found in the Yangtze, does most of its maturing in salt water but only reproduces in fresh water.

    It was Zou's institute that captured the giant sturgeon in October.

    The species does not eat in fresh water, so researchers are hoping that with a real-to-life environment the fish will break this habit, but this could take as much as a year, according to Wei Qiwei, a professor with the institute.Enditem

(Source: China Daily)